Most schools offer sex education classes.  Typically, parents need to sign a form to give the school permission to include their child.  This alone suggests the sensitive subject of sex.

Teaching children at home offers a more personal and intimate way of discussing the subject.  It is not easy for most parents because we often did not have these conversations when we were growing up, thus no role modeling.  I suggest reading about educating our children beforehand if there is discomfort.

I had a parent tell me that she was asked by her four-year-old daughter how babies were made.  The mother was pregnant at the time.  She told her that the woman has eggs and the man has sperm and when they get together, a baby can be created.  The child paused, and went on, “How do the eggs and sperm get together?”  The mother said that she was proud of herself for having gotten this far, but the next step was causing her to feel anxious.

She told her daughter that couples who are in love communicate their feelings physically beyond hugging and kissing.  They share their bodies in an act called intercourse.  At some point the man puts his penis in his partner’s vagina and he releases sperm.  If the sperm connects with her egg, a baby can be conceived.

“Oh,” the daughter said, “can I watch when you and Daddy do it?”  The mother said that it is a very private act and she would not be allowed to watch.

The child’s response?

“I won’t tell anybody.”

The mother ended with the statement that it was not going to happen.  It never came up again.