Reddit reviews It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families (The Family Library)
We found 14 Reddit comments about It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families (The Family Library). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
This is the one my eight-year-old and I borrowed from the library (following many years of asking questions and getting age-appropriate factual answers). Nothing wrong with having all the facts.
I did.
I mean that, quite literally. I "named the parts" (meaning external genitalia, using correct terminology) when they were toddlers. Then both my kids got a thorough series of lessons around kindergarten/grade one that covered the finer details of human anatomy. From top of head down to their toes and not skipping any of the bits in between. They loved the digestive system!
We also covered how babies are made, and what happens at puberty, in those same first lessons. My daughter (then five) was fascinated by menstruation, which was a bit awkward when she'd occasionally decide to start a conversation about it in public places, like on the city bus.
A lot of other stuff (boys and girls, men and women, sexual assault, gay rights, issues of consent and legal age, etc...) worked its way in over the years, just in general conversation. We never missed an opportunity for discussion, and the evening news was always a great conversation starter.
It also helped that our church has a very thorough sex ed program, though my daughter walked in there already knowing more than was on the curriculum. My son spent more time with his fingers in his ears going, "La, la, la, I can't heeear you!" than his sister did, so I think the church program was more educational for him.
These are the books we (and our church) used:
http://www.amazon.ca/Its-So-Amazing-Babies-Families/dp/0763613215/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b
http://www.amazon.ca/Its-Not-Stork-Families-Friends/dp/0763633313/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c
http://www.amazon.ca/Its-Perfectly-Normal-Changing-Growing/dp/0763644846
My teens know this stuff, inside out and backwards. I made darn sure they did, because I didn't when I was their age and it landed me in some hot water.
And it seems to have worked! My 17yo daughter's applying to university to start training be a midwife next year. She already knows more than most adults know about sexual health. And my son's managed to stay out of trouble. I have every confidence he'll, at an absolute minimum, always use a condom. :)
My daughter is 8 and I just had "the talk" with her as well. I bought her [this] ( http://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215) book as well as "The Care and Keeping of You", which was basically my bible as a preteen. She had a lot of basic questions about sex and sexuality (I'm a lesbian living with my partner of 4 years but I was previously married to her father) and the first book addresses everything very clearly in an age appropriate way. I believe being frank and talking about sex and the changes her body will undergo in an open and honest way is the best approach. My daughter wasn't embarrassed, neither was I, and now she knows better than to believe half-truths about sex and periods from her schoolmates!
No, your plan is great! Here's a trusty book for honest and age-appropriate conversations about sex and reproduction with that age: https://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215
.2) I love the entire series by Robie Harris. They have age appropriate book for late toddlers, gradeschoolers, adolescent kids. Each one goes over normal biology, "safe touch", and what's happening in a developing body at that point. I bought them, I read through them with my kids, I leave them out so they can check back. It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families (The Family Library) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0763613215/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_17GFAbZ64JX5S
.3) explicitly let your kids know that, while you always hope they can speak to you about stuff, is also normal for people to feel sometimes oddly shy about certain topics, and here's a list of other safe adults to talk to.
it's great that you have such a relationship, so he feels free to bring topics he must know are somewhat delicate. i'd recommend getting him http://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215, maybe reading it together, or just offering to answer any question he might have after he reads it by himself.
we got it for our daughter when she was about that age, and she loved it and kept rereading it.
It depends on the 8 year old. I wouldn't say specifics of intercourse are inappropriate because it's basic biology. It's science! This book may help you out as well as this one. They offer very frank, honest, and educational information and it also gives your 8 year old something to look through on his own as well as alongside you. They're great teaching tools.
I always used vagina and penis. My mother worked in labour and delivery while I was growing up and I was never sheltered from how my body worked. My mother brought home textbooks from the hospital for our sex talk. She also believed as soon as kids were old enough to ask a question, they were old enough to know the answer.
I picked up this book: http://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215 for my kids a couple years ago. It's really good and though it doesn't make it any less awkward. It's a good resource for them to go over in private.
There are some great books available that make talking to kids about sex and reproduction really easy.
It's Not The Stork! and It's So Amazing! offer some great discussion of the biology of everything and leave plenty of room for you to insert your own morality! There's never a good reason to leave kids in the dark about biology and sexuality. I've been reading these books to my son since he was about 3 years old. They're cute, accurate, accessible, and worthwhile.
If you don't already have it: https://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215
Recommended by one of my wife's best friends that's the head of social programs or some such (I know she's in charge of sex ed, not sure of the exact title) at one of the biggest school districts in the country. But... be forewarned, sex has changed and that book covers it all. Read if before you give it to them, or you might get questions you weren't ready for.
Check out these books. There are 3 in the series for different age groups. They are really good.
https://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215#
I work for a statewide Child Abuse Prevention org and we advocate that “8 is great.” It’s an appropriate time to discuss sexual development before they start to get misinformation through other sources (friends, media, etc).
“It’s So Amazing” is an excellent book. I ordered the series but began with this one when my son was 8.
https://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215
Just to touch on teaching your kids the proper words for body parts: this series of books was recommended to me, definitely worth checking out!
>
It's So Amazing!: A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families (The Family Library) by Robie H. Harris et al. http://www.amazon.com/dp/0763613215/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_UM.Xtb0CEP19D
Don't know if you meant a pun with a stork and flying, but it was funny nonetheless.
I want to make sure I'm the one to talk to my child about this. And nowadays, it can come from elsewhere pretty early.
After five, we've talked about it a few more times, "Mom, does it feel good when Dad puts his penis in you?" "Yes, otherwise people wouldn't have sex and humanity would have died out a long time ago," (though I can't figure out how cats haven't died out yet, that sounds painful!). She knows what sexy is, and why it's not appropriate for her. She know the appropriate use of breasts (she nursed until 38 months, her 26 month old younger sister is still nursing). She was there when her younger sister was born. She knew we were trying for a baby, read the pregnancy test with me to confirm it was positive, and was there for most of our prenatal appointments. So we had a lot of opportunity for little discussions, rather than THE TALK once. It built on previous info, and while it's a little uncomfortable to discuss, once I put it in terms of humanity, rather than "What Dad and I do is..." it's just biology. Same as digestion or pumping blood.
We also have this book. http://www.amazon.com/Its-So-Amazing-Families-Library/dp/0763613215/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322263978&sr=1-8 It goes into appropriate detail. What happens with men, with women, in the uterus. It's neither crude or porn, nor condescending ("a man gives a woman a special kiss and then a baby is born nine months later"). It's the best book I've seen on the subject. While I was pregnant my older daughter would read it, and come to me with questions.
She's also got a book on what will happen to her body over the next several years, what changes she can expect physically and mentally. Since it's her body gearing up to become a childbearing woman, now's a great time to make sure she knows it's not kissing, not a hug, and certainly not the stork. We've talked about condom use and safe sex, and that babies are not the only unwanted outcome of unprotected sex. That if you have sex with someone, you're having sex with their partners in some way.
So just build on it a little at a time, but be honest.