The birds & the bees.

[feywon]

I’m reminded of a story about a boy who asked his father where he came from. The father swallowed hard, but knew that this question would eventually come, so with the aid of tasteful diagrams he explained the mechanics of sexual reproduction to his son.

Some time later, the son interrupted his father’s explanations to say, “Dad, this is interesting, but Jimmy in school said that he came from Pittsburgh. Where did I come from?”

The moral of the story is to understand a child’s actual question, and not give them more information than they may be asking for…

Yep, and that's so funny because it's true. Many adults do not listen carefully enough to what children say/ask. That's not how i was raised or how i raised mine.

 

[win231]

My parents' talk about the birds & the bees was limited to one sentence.
When my brother picked up a prostitute on a street corner & got a venereal disease from her, my dad told me, "Don't be stupid like your brother." That was the entire "talk."

 

[Maryatrics]

When I was around the age of the time for that talk the whole free love movement was going on. Of course my parents when you have a 12 year old daughter they really didn't want me engaging like that so I do remember mom giving me some sort of talk about being safe and never being trapped into a situation I didn't want to be in. I wasn't really a teen that exploring all those back in those days, but I also wasn't considered a 'square" as well.

When it came for the time to talk to my daughter , I think she was more aware that it was coming because I work somewhat in the health field. I feel it went well as she was always a good kid.

 

[feywon]

Oh, and to answer OP's question: Not really tho i did talk with my Mom some in my teens. As a country kid who was observant and also a voracious reader. i had extrapolated from animal activity witnessed (and knowing that humans have similar appendages and openings) and then sometime later the female was pregnant...and figured it out by about 10 yrs old.

Hoping this won't offend the forums main sponsor: A bigger issue back before most household had tvs was discussion with girls about our menstrual cycles. My Maternal grandma told her 3 daughters absolute Zero. Eldest of them experienced menarche at school, thought she'd somehow gotten injured internally and would bleed to death. The school nurse explained it to her. She then had the common sense to explain to her younger sisters. What my Mom told me gave me enough info to find more accurate info at library. (Suspect the nurse may have had to be careful of her words, but wanted to calm Auntie that it was 'normal', but after passing thru two other minds it might have gotten slightly distorted.)

Most kids, male and female, of Gen X and later have a clue from TV/Print Ads for products and parents having the sense to inform kids. (My brother is 16 yrs my junior and Mom and i had a huge argument because on a visit home when he was about ten i explained it to him. The poor boy thought Mom was having some major health problem due to the bloody stuff in bathroom garbage.
i think after our talk either she or stepDad figured it might be time to talk to him about sex. He still got his girlfriend pregnant during their Junior year of HS. But he stepped up very well. Another topic really.