I grew up in a household where we never talked about anything to do with sex in any shape or form. Did my parents teach me about sex even though nothing was said? They sure did! By not saying anything the whole topic was full of shame and embarrassment. When it came to puberty, I stole pads out of my mum’s cupboard. Why would I want to talk to my parents about it if I had never before? Did I think that this was a natural, normal part of life? No because it just wasn’t. It was taboo in our house. We often had people in our home and my parents would make me kiss and hug them and I remember feeling really uncomfortable. Did I understand as a parent that it was important to practise consent and give my kids choices from a young age? No! But I do now. My parents were kind and inclusive of all people and their situations. Their loving values and attitudes had a huge effect on my relationships. Have you heard the saying that ‘actions speak louder than words’? What you say or don’t say and how you act can have more of an effect on your child’s education than anything.
So, my question to you is have you ever thought about how your family taught you about sex when you were a kid and do you want to parent the same, or how do you want to parent differently? In our over sexualised society and with such easy access to pornography it’s more important than ever that we normalise open and positive conversations. This starts with you. Your child will not always make the choices that you would like them too but research shows that they respect themselves and others when values, attitudes and beliefs are modelled and talked about in the home.
