Your family may take a road trip this summer. Maybe you’re heading to the beach, to relatives’, or to a campground. You’ll have the kids in the car for a block of time, so maybe you’re thinking about plunging into a talk about sex while there are fewer distractions than usual. It’s probably better if […]
Babies Do NOT Come from Mommies’ Tummies
Little kids are infinitely curious about the world. They’re little scientists, trying to figure out how everything works. (That’s the reason they ask so many exhausting “why” questions.) They also don’t have filters for what topics are awkward or impolite. They see, they notice, so they comment or ask about whatever is in front of […]
She Got Her First Period. Let’s Celebrate!
A daughter’s first period is a milestone for her—and also for her parents. It may be a dreaded event, heralding her budding sexuality and the turmoil of the teen years. Or it may be a happy thing, a source of pride, because your cherished daughter is moving toward the woman she’ll become. Parents may have […]
Too Tired for Sex
With all the demands of modern life, sometimes couples just don’t have the time or energy to spend intimate moments together. With jobs, errands to do, maybe kids, a household to run, and outside commitments, sometimes there just isn’t much left over for your partner. But that’s a problem. Your partner shouldn’t be getting only […]
Which Parent Should Teach the Birds & the Bees?
Teaching kids about sex is uncomfortable for most parents. If you’re a single parent, the task pretty much falls to you, comfortable or not. But if there are two parents in the picture, who should cover it? Can you let your spouse handle the job? Well, maybe…but not really. It’s best for kids if both […]
Growing Your Child’s Sexual Health
There’s so much to nurture when we raise kids. We help them to grow in so many areas: language, emotional self-control, social interactions, practical skills, academics, compassion…. While you’re working on all that, remember to also factor in their sexual health. Even though it will be years before they’re sexually active, what you do now […]
Protecting Your Kid from Porn
The amount and variety of pornography available on the internet is truly amazing. And if you’re a parent, it’s truly terrifying. How can you keep your children from seeing sexual material—-especially anything-but-mainstream behavior—that’s far beyond their ability to comprehend? Finding pornography at an early age is usually very unsettling for kids. Unlike teens, who have […]
TalkStarter for Kids: “How I Learned about Puberty”
Let’s face it: puberty and sex are awkward topics. And when you do gear yourself up to talk to your child about it, you probably get cringing and eye rolls. But you don’t want your kids to enter puberty and have no idea why their bodies are changing. Even if their school does a good […]
Are Date Nights Really That Important?
Therapists recommend couples scheduling date nights so often that it’s almost a joke, up there with “how are you feeling about that?” You might wonder if it’s just some default thing therapists say to fill up time. Nope. We suggest date nights so often because they work. One-on-one time doing something fun with your significant […]
A First-Grade Lesson that Helps with the Birds and the Bees
Back when my kids were in first grade, the teacher did a unit on distinguishing facts from opinions. Designed to help them learn critical thinking, it used examples like “Bananas are yellow” and “Bananas are better than apples,” then moved to more subtle kinds of communication. It was a great concept to introduce at an […]