How Do I Talk to My Kids About Sex? (Podcast)

Jenifer and I had the privilege of being guests on a whiz-bang of a podcast this month. Andy and Kendra Fletcher are parents of 8 (wow!) kids and are movers and shakers in the homeschool community. What I like about them is that they have a bit of a rebellious streak to them...but in a good way. Because of their experiences, they tend to question the validity of many of our assumptions about homeschooling. What this means to you and me is that they are real people whose observations about families are honest, raw, and very approachable.

The Fletchers are homeschoolers for people who don't like homeschoolers.

That said, you REALLY need to listen to this podcast. They tackled the question: "How do I talk to my kids about sex?" Some of their thoughts are absolutely incredible. The greatest thing about the show is that they play clips of interviews they did with a bunch of young adults from the Christian community. The general consensus among these "good Christian kids" was that mom and dad dropped the ball. Almost all declared that their parents didn't do near enough to equip them to manage their God-given sexuality.

Another great thing about the podcast: they interviewed Jenifer and me. I say that mainly because we had the pleasure of getting to know Kendra and "Fletch." I think we are, as they say, brothers from different mothers. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with them about our book and are now thrilled to watch how God will use them to impact the Kingdom.

Click on the picture below to get to the podcast. It's all good, but the interviews with the young adults happens at about 10:25 and then Jenifer and I get to join them at about the 26:30 mark.

After listening to the podcast, I have a little assignment for you. I dare you to ask your teenager the following:

Q. If you have questions about sex, changes, feelings, etc. who are you most likely to talk to? (parents, peers, Google, God, or absolutely no one.)

Q. Do you feel comfortable talking to me about sexual issues? (If they sprint away from you, assume the answer is "no.") Why or why not?

Q. On a scale of 1-10, how "in touch" do you think I am about the sexual behaviors of your peers? (With 1 being "completely clueless" and 10 being "fully aware.")

Q. After telling your teenager that you want to help him to understand their sexuality and to make wise choices along the way, ask them: What would have to happen for us to become more comfortable talking about this stuff?

*We invite you to check out my new book: The Talk(s): A Parent's Guide to Critical Conversations About Sex, Dating, and Other Unmentionables. It has been developed to assist parents as they help their kids navigate our hyper-sexualized culture. Whether your kids are 6 or 16, it provides practical help to help your kids to make wise choices in a messed-up world. It is on sale today at Amazon for $11.99.

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Barrett JohnsonComment