Someone forwarded me this blog post recently and I really, really liked it! Although I thought it was a bit long, it’s fun to read so I suggest you spend the few minutes reading it anyhow. The thing is, we all think we’re “sex positive” parents and we all think we are cool with discussing sex with our kids. The reality I’ve seen is quite different though. While everyone I know thinks they’d be totally comfortable talking about sex with their kids in theory, in practice it’s a whole other ball game. It’s kind of like the parents who tell me that, “Of course I would speak to my kids about sex. They just haven’t really asked me yet.”
The point is that sexual issues surround us all the time and there are a myriad of moments when your sex positivity can made a difference in your kids’ lives. Sometime it’s obvious. Sometimes it’s much less so. Sex positive parenting means being open and available for those micro-moments when your support and response make all the difference. Sex positive parenting means truly allowing your child to have control over her own body, even when she embarrasses you by not wanting to kiss Uncle George. And even when she chooses to do things differently than you did. Sex positive parenting means being as honest as you can be about what you do and don’t know.
I think this blog post is really worth the read!