Mummy’s lost for words…….

When it comes to sex education and birth biological system, I have been wondering when is a good time to share a proper knowledge with my kids, especially my eldest boy who is turning 10 years old soon.

Two days ago, we were in the car when my eldest boy just broke the silence by making a very surprising comment. 

“Mummy, I have two balls on my body”, Brendan said and he proceeded to show them to me.  I was taken aback by the sudden topic.  Hmmm…don’t look at this as a “R” rated topic to be discussed because if looked at from the educational point of view, it is an education that has to be taught to the children either by school or parents and it is a matter of time.  Children are growing and it is inevitable that they get curious over their body parts.

He next proceeded to say : “I read that it is used to store sperm.  What is it for?”. I was surprised rather than embarrassed by the added remark and was not really prepared for the answer.  Probably thinking that it would be more appropriate for a man to answer, I told him to ask his father instead.

My youngest boy at that point already stepped out of the car but was insistent to force an answer out of me (on behalf of his brother and himself) and went on asking aloud: “Why I also  have two balls?” <Oops, censored XXXX>.  At that moment, Papa Ed and I were embarrassed because his voice was magnified in a quiet and spacious carpark and also we were afraid of being misinterpreted and collectively we went :”Shhhhh……..we will tell you later. Please don’t repeat,ok?” We know our  5-year-old boy was too young to understand.

Just a week ago, out of the blue, Brendan asked : “What is menstruation?”  Since it is a question that woman should know best to answer and since it is very soon that Brendan will sense the biological changes in him and the girl schoolmates around him, I tried my best to answer tactfully and briefly and my answer touched on how woman has to go through menstruation monthly and how woman is able to give birth.

Not able to link the full picture together, Brendan immediately asked :”So you are having menstrXXX now, means you are pregnant is it?” We had a good laugh over the innocent question but I also take note that probably it is too complex for him to have a comprehensive understanding at his age. To add to his innocence, both my children so far have been telling me :”So we came from mummy’s stomachs” but they thought it happened miraculously without a cause <LOL>.

So when is a good time for kids to fully understand and for parents to paint the correct picture to them when it comes to this topic?