Nick is about to get 'the talk' at school. The school sent home a very carefully worded letter that said if we don't want him to participate, we have to sign the letter and return it. Shoot! I want him to get that information from the school. I might have missed something important. He hasn't exactly wanted to talk about it. Oh, we've had 'the talk' before, but when he was four and asked how babies come out, there were a lot of details I left out. When he was eight and wanted to know how they got into their mother's belly, I left out fewer details, but the picture still wasn't complete. I'm not exactly sure if I gave him too much or too little information then, but I'm glad that someone else will be filling in age appropriate details. God knows, Mike hasn't been happy about telling Nick what's what.
I can understand people who do not want their kids to participate. I really do. My wish for Nick is to wait, to have an experience of love rather than of gratification. I'd rather he and his beloved were sure about their decisions, that they were old enough to be prepared for the consequences, that they were dedicated to each other. Marriage would be good.
The problem I have with Nick not knowing about sex is that there are so many ways that ignorance can harm him. There are diseases he could catch and transmit. I don't even know all the names of the diseases, though I could make a formidable list. And there's the chance that he could become a father too soon if he doesn't have enough information. That's a life-changer. Add to that my hope that he know enough about how to be good to a woman. Oh, how the hell can a parent tell a boy about that? I don't think the school has that added agenda. I just might beg Mike to take care of that part when the time comes. I might just have to have some awkward discussion with him anyway. I guess it depends on what he needs.
He's only eleven, I say to myself, but then I am reminded of the girls who became pregnant at age ten. Then, I start worrying that the school might not give him enough information. We're already getting to the age that he needs some privacy. He was late to come by that, having no compunction about wandering around the house stark naked until recently and we aren't really that kind of people.
So, in fact, I'm glad that Nick will be getting some information. The school knows at least some of what he will need to know. They might be able to come up with a scary list of diseases for him to imagine. That will be worth a lot. I'm old enough to have been one of the first groups of school kids who got sex education in a public school. I still remember some pictures they showed us of the effects of venereal diseases. Those pictures were revolting. Yup, that'll quell some of those unbridled urges.
Thank you for listening, jb
I can understand people who do not want their kids to participate. I really do. My wish for Nick is to wait, to have an experience of love rather than of gratification. I'd rather he and his beloved were sure about their decisions, that they were old enough to be prepared for the consequences, that they were dedicated to each other. Marriage would be good.
The problem I have with Nick not knowing about sex is that there are so many ways that ignorance can harm him. There are diseases he could catch and transmit. I don't even know all the names of the diseases, though I could make a formidable list. And there's the chance that he could become a father too soon if he doesn't have enough information. That's a life-changer. Add to that my hope that he know enough about how to be good to a woman. Oh, how the hell can a parent tell a boy about that? I don't think the school has that added agenda. I just might beg Mike to take care of that part when the time comes. I might just have to have some awkward discussion with him anyway. I guess it depends on what he needs.
He's only eleven, I say to myself, but then I am reminded of the girls who became pregnant at age ten. Then, I start worrying that the school might not give him enough information. We're already getting to the age that he needs some privacy. He was late to come by that, having no compunction about wandering around the house stark naked until recently and we aren't really that kind of people.
So, in fact, I'm glad that Nick will be getting some information. The school knows at least some of what he will need to know. They might be able to come up with a scary list of diseases for him to imagine. That will be worth a lot. I'm old enough to have been one of the first groups of school kids who got sex education in a public school. I still remember some pictures they showed us of the effects of venereal diseases. Those pictures were revolting. Yup, that'll quell some of those unbridled urges.
Thank you for listening, jb
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