As the mom of four older kids, I’ve had a lot of embarrassing conversations. Since we’ve homeschooled (you like me anyway) I’m the biggest source of their information. This is especially true for any kind of sex ed, including information on birth control.
You haven’t experienced anxiety until you’ve discussed genital warts and condoms with an eleven year old.
Now all of my kids are old enough to drive, date, and lots of other things I don’t want to know too much about. Still, we continue to talk about those embarrassing things like sex.
Even if it makes me cringe on the inside, it’s so important that my kids know I can talk about important topics with them. I want to be a good source of information and be a safe person for them to confide in.
I feel so lucky mom own mom was pretty frank about the science and mechanics of sex. I remember her drawing a diagram of the uterus for me on a yellow legal pad. I’m still a little scarred by some of those drawings, but at the same time I’m grateful to be informed about biology by a mom with a biology degree.
Back in the 80s, my best shot at decent reproductive health information was the encyclopedia or the older girls on the school bus. While the encyclopedia was simultaneously fascinating with its medical diagrams of the human (male) body, the older girls on the bus told me boys can’t make you pregnant if they drank a lot of Mello Yello soda.
Now kids have the internet for sex ed if they can’t go to their parents or don’t have a good-quality health class in school. The problem with googling for sex ed is that it’s mostly going to turn up dungeon porn. Thank goodness for sites like Amaze.com. They’re creating informative short animated video content that gives kids factual information about sex, their changing bodies, peer pressure, and birth control.
My teen daughters humored me by sitting down and watching a few of Amaze’s birth control videos. Sure, we watched animated bunnies demonstrate how to put a condom on a carrot, but here’s what’s good: my kids know that they can talk to me about sex and birth control.
While I’m not thrilled at the thought of my little babies actually utilizing sex education, it’s foolish to let them grow up in the world without the information to make good choices about their sexual health.
I love them too much to trust they know enough to make good decisions about sex. Sure, kids today live in a world of easily accessed information about literally everything. But, they are still kids. Their I’m-Very-Mature-For-My-Age-Mom” brains are squishy and ruled by hormones, no matter how smart and tech-savvy they may be.
These Amaze videos are probably best for tweens. Ten to fourteen is peak time to get this information, because their bodies are changing, and it’s best to give them info before they are likely to need it.
Once they’ve started dating is probably too late to make maximum impact, so start earlier than you think you need to.
I’m glad my kids can come to me and talk about serious, embarrassing, life-changing topics like sex and birth control. Be that safe person for your kids.
It’s my pleasure to work with Amaze.org on this sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
For more info, like the @AMAZEparents Facebook page
Also, check out the website: Amaze.org
Twitter: https://twitter.com/amazeorg
YouTube: http://youtube.com/amazeorg
Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/amazeorg
Follow the hashtag across social media platforms: #MoreInfoLessWeird
As a fellow homeschool mom (without a biology degree) this looks like an amazing resource!