Time to Talk About Sex and a Giveaway

This Giveaway has ended. Thanks to all that entered!
We went to the zoo on Saturday and happened to catch the turtles above in action. A 10 year old girl asked her father what was wrong with them and he replied nothing. Then she asked what they were doing. As a bystander I felt really bad for the dad who was about to have to answer a lot of questions then or on the way home. But is this how you want to first talk about sex with your child?

This was my 4th visit to the Columbia zoo in the past 2 years and every time we've been there I've seen some animals in action. One baboon was actually pleasuring himself our last visit. I luckily have a 2 year old who I don't have to explain these things to, yet. But, when she starts to get more curious I want to be prepared to answer questions and hopefully before we are in a public situation where it could be more awkward.

I was sent, "101 Questions Kids Really Ask... And the Answers They Need to Know," and "A Time to Talk" DVD from HEALTHY Edudynamics. I was hesitant at first to reply about doing the review, but thought it couldn't hurt to go ahead and have ideas for what is to come. I am so glad I did!

The book is made to help parents prepare for questions their children might ask and to give them a better understanding on how to approach the adolescence talk. Your child can read the book as well and there are awesome pictures in each chapter. The book is basically real kids asking Mary Halter, a puberty educator, questions about puberty and her answering them in the most professional and informed way possible. Even though I knew the answers to the questions, I didn't know how to fully explain them to a child who is clueless. If your child came up to you and asked what is inside the testicles, could you give them a complete and thorough answer?

At the end of the book Mary helps parents with the why's, when and where you should discuss these things with your children. There are also "Time Out" sections in the book with stories from real parents and most of the stories are about younger children. I think a parent of any aged child would truly benefit from this book. It is geared for children in grades 4-6, but better it's to be prepared than not!

One of my favorite things about this book is that it has a chapter on sexual assault and sexual harassment. I won't get into my personal experiences, but lets just say I went through it at a very early age. This is a topic I will discuss with my child at very long lengths. More parents need to know ways to discuss this with their children so they don't feel like they are doing something wrong if it does happen. Here is a scary fact for you: 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18. 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. It is never too early to discuss sexual abuse!

Another chapter in the book which is great is the "Age Group Commonalities as Children Grow Physically, Socially and Sexually." The chapter starts from birth and goes up to 6th grade. Being a mom of a toddler, this was really informative! I did learn to not use made-up names for anatomical parts. I always called a vagina a Ya-ya.. don't ask why.. but Mary said, "The longer they continue to use inaccurate labels for these parts, the more confusing and difficult it is to correct their language." This is something I didn't even think about, but am glad I learned.

As I was reviewing the DVD, "A Time to Talk," I grew rather bored and thought a child might lose interest as well. But, after thinking about the video in a different perspective I realized this was stuff that I knew... but a child viewing the video doesn't know this information and it is a very curious subject for them. The DVD explains everything a child should know about puberty, sex, and childbirth. Mary suggested if your child gets bored while watching the video, it is a good stopping point to talk about questions they might have and discuss what they have watched. This is a review from a parent who actually viewed the video with her child,

“I really didn’t want to do this. I can’t tell you how nervous I was. My husband and I had previewed the video and made 3 pages of notes. We sat down with the boys and told them that I had participated in a group and received a DVD that would help us talk to them about growing up. I followed the instructions in the Parent Guide and told them that this was accurate information that we felt they needed to know. We also explained that throughout the DVD there would be an opportunity to ask questions. Both my husband and I were totally surprised how attentive they were (I’m sure nervous as well) but they said they weren’t. At the first pause slide we asked if they had questions and the both said “no”. Again, following the Guide, my husband said, many boys your age wonder….and that opened the door. By the time we got to the information about babies, we could not shut them up. They both wanted to know all kinds of details about when I was pregnant and especially the day they were born. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to do this. I will truthfully say now, Mary, I am a believer! I never thought my boys had any questions and they probably would never have thought it was OK to have those questions if we hadn’t had your DVD. Thank you!"

Mary has been doing puberty education for 19 years. In those years, she has personally seen over 81,000 4th-6th graders. She also works with parents, teachers and youth serving agency staff to teach them how to discuss these sensitive issues with children.

Interested in the book and dvd? Go to www.HEALTHYedudynamics.com to purchase "101 Questions" and a gender specific "A Time to Talk" DVD with Parent DVD Guide for only $19.95! It is just a Summer promotion, so act quickly. It normally retails for $49.95.

The Giveaway: HEALTHY edudynamics would like to offer 1 lucky reader a "101 Questions" book and "A Time to Talk" gender specific DVD.

Rules: You have until 11:59 p.m. EST September 25, 2009 to enter. The winner will be chosen by random.org and announced after they respond to the winning email. The winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email, or a new winner will be chosen. You must leave your email address! This contest is open to the US

How to Enter: Go to HEALTHY edudynamics and tell me something you learned and comment back here. Click on "Comments" to leave your post. Make sure to leave your email address!! I cannot contact the winner without it!

EXTRA entries: You must complete the "How To Enter" before making any extra entries. Make sure you leave a comment for each extra entry and tell me which one.

2. Become a fan of Mkokopelli on FB, Mkokopelli on Twitter or Follow my blog
3. Subscribe to my blog by email (on the right sidebar)

4. Blog, Tweet or send a message on FB and leave a link here (3 extra entries)

5. Enter another giveaway I have going on and tell me which one or leave a comment on a non-giveaway post
6. Tell me a question/story your child has asked related to sex or puberty.
7. Visit the HEALTHY edudynamics blog and tell me some of the questions kids have asked Mary, then tell me if you would have known the answer.
8. Do you dread the sex talk?