Monday, August 15, 2011

Anyone up for an awkward conversation...

A friend emailed me today asking for help with the big "talk." Ironically, her email came on the day of my big "talk" with Ethan.

i am not really nervous about it. honest. don't look at me that way...i really am not worried or nervous at all in the slightest.

maybe a little. but just a little.

mostly sad. i am learning that i am the mom who finds each new milestone incredibly exciting and heartbreaking all in one. motherhood is not for the weak of heart. or stomach for that matter. i went upstarts today and found a whole lot of bodily substances in the restroom. but that's a whole different post.

However, I feel like the 400+ hours( but who's counting) of sexual addiction  education and the undergrad in child development and the heavy course load of counseling classes has left me with one certain conviction. In this area - PARENTS MUST BE FEARLESS.  Seriously, if I have learned anything its that.

So I told my friend I would post the books that I think are good and helpful on my blog today. I hope this helps. I am not "In Love" with any of these books. I have read a lot of them and I think these are good. But not perfect. Maybe one day I will attempt to write the perfect one. Because I do think there is a gaping hole in the market. But for now I just pick and choose what I like from each book and use them the best I can.

  1. Amazing You by Gail Saltz  - A good beginner book for kids. I started my boys with this one at around 6. 
  2. Before I Was Born by Carolyn Nystrom - I really like this book. It's a Christian centered book and I do like the focus it gives on morals and values. There is a page in here that I would save for the "big talk" at 8. But overall one of my favorite books!
  3. Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle -  This a good book for older children (8+) This is the book I am going to use with the big talk. Again, not perfect but a good clear educational book. This book is recommended in the book I will talk about next.
  4. How To Talk To Your Child About Sex by Linda and Richard Eyre. I love this book - its the best I have come across. It's written by the Eyre's (the founders of joy school and parents to 9 children!) It's in my opinion the best place to start. It gives you dialogues for every age from 2 to adulthood.      
  5. It's So Amazing by Robbie H Harris. I have mixed feelings on this book. I love that its comprehensive. I mean it covers EVERYTHING. It should be called "El Encylopediao De Awkward Conversation."  However I think its a good one to have to cover about everything. I don't personally agree with all the views in this one...so I filter it a bit.
Like I said, there really isn't a perfect book for this. But this is a good start. I have TONS of other books I really like and maybe I will post those soon.







4 comments:

KMitchell said...

Thanks Andrea! I actually was going to ask you about this too! Feeling I need to get prepared for this and sad at the same time that I have to. Lesson on Sunday really made me think about needing to teach the kids before the world does. Thanks for sharing!

Rachel Holloway said...

THANK YOU! Bookmarking this... :)

Tyra Baird said...

Thank you I need to get on this too. Its nice to have a support and knowledgable leader.

Chad and Amy said...

Andrea -
First I want to say sorry I am stalking your blog. I found your blog after you made a post on Grandma and Grandpa Goldings mission blog. I LOVE your blog!!! I just want to thank you for this post. I have been dreading this talk with our daughter Abigail. After reading some of the suggested books, I felt so much better about "the talk". I am sure more talks are going to come but it is so nice to have this one out of the way :)
Amy Mabey