Teaching Parents How to Teach their Children About Sex

Last night I held a class for parents on how to discuss sex and sexuality with their children. This was the most attended evening parent meeting I’ve experienced in 10 years of pastoring. What was gratifying was the fact that most of the parents who attended had young children. They weren’t waiting until their child was a teen to begin the dialogue about sexuality.

Think about how silly that approach is. During adolscence brain development slows down and hormonal development speeds up. Why wait until your child’s brain is flooded with biochemical “static” and choose that moment to begin helping him or her understand their bodies and God’s intention for sex.

Here are my presenters notes. How to Talk to Your Children About Sex

I relied heavily upon “How and When to Tell your Kids About Sex” by Stanton and Brenna B. Jones in my research. And I highly, highly recommend the “God’s Design for Sex” series by Nav  Press as tools to get into your parents hands so they can talk about sex.

A couple of tactical notes for children’s pastors considering empowering parents to take the lead on this issues: I don’t think I could have gotten away with this class my first few years at Grace. To was too young, too newly married, and not a seasoned parent. In short, I hadn’t earned my congregation’s trust. If you are young, or single, or too whatever, but you know that parents need to be equipped on the subject, consider enlisting a doctor or psychologist from within your church to be the presenter.

And here is the hard part. You have to model for your parents how it is that they need to talk to their children about sex. So if you want them to use the proper names for body parts with their, you need to be able to discuss penises and vaginas in Christian mixed company without turning seven shades of pink. It’s what it is.

Here’s a freebie: visit www.funchristiansex.com to download a free podcast. Dr. Steve Simpson and Dr. Ryan Howes do a great job with their podcast, it’s funny and informative. It’s a great resource for you and the parents you serve.