I know it's way too early to really dwell on this, but, have you thought about how you are going to have the "sex talk" with your teenager? At what age do you plan on discussing birth control? If you have girls, are you going to have the "period" talk and the "sex" talk separately?
Sorry to be a PW, but Teen Mom was on, and since we're talking about fears today...
side note: the above statement is not a dig on teen motherhood. My mother was a teen mom. I know we have some moms on the board who had babies very young, and I know you are all fabulous mothers.
Re: "the talk"
My DD (4) haz all the questions about everything she sees, so I try and give the most age appropriate, and honest answers I can.
I'm hoping that by speaking openly about sex, puberty, etc. will make it less of a "taboo" subject, and my kids will feel more comfortable being open and honest with me.
We shall see how that plays out........
ETA: Here's my drive-by for the day
DS#1 3-28-02 ~ DD 6-15-09 ~ DS#2 5-31-13
BTDT. DO NOT wait until they are teenagers. Explain human reproduction to them before they reach adolescence. They'll be much better equipped to handle it if the information was proceesed in their brains before they reached puberty.
When my son was 4 or 5 of course he asked where babies come from, so we bought him a book. He thought it was weird, but eventually it made sense to him. As the issues surrounding sex come up from time to time, we discuss them. It's not a taboo subject, so he's comfortable asking if he has a question.
There's really good research backing up the notion that comprehensive sex ed results in less risky behavior, delaying sex, avoiding teen pregnancy, etc. The U.S. really lags in this area. Our teen -pregnancy rates are way worse than other first world countries, and the evidence shows that it is largely the result of bad "Abstinence Only" programs.
However, I have told her we are already in talks for her future husband selection, so this shouldn't be a problem
Our lil' diva: late like her Momma: 40 weeks 5 days!
If I had a girl...it would be easier for me. I'm leaving it up to his dad and MH to talk to him about certain stuff.
Basically I want to handle it differently than my parents did. My mom pulled out the encyclopedia when I was 10. It was awful. I found out what sex was at 13 from a health book. I started masturbating when I was 12 and thought I was "sinning". I couldn't talk to my mom about anything. I started my period a week before I turned 12 and was devastated. I was supposed to go to a water park with my cousin. I had to buy/teach myself about tampons cause my mom said they weren't for virgins. She also said I was "feeding myself trash" when she found cosmopolitan magazines in my room.
Needless to say I will not be continuing this pattern as a parent.
I remember bugging my mom about it when I was about 5, and she finally caved and yelled "A man sticks his penis in a woman's vagina!" I can't help but laugh now. Poor mom.
I'll be honest about it from the get-go, as soon as he asks. He might be confused, but I'd rather he hear it from me (or DH) than from other kids on the playground. I'll probably also talk to him about homosexuality and transgender at an early age. I don't want him to think there's anything taboo about sexuality, or worse, to think there's something wrong with homosexuality or transgender.