Several prayers were answered abundantly this past weekend. I went to a Hearts at Home Conference with seven other women from my MOPS group. Although some prayers were boldly answered at the many life-giving sessions I attended, some were also answered just within our group.
First, I have been begging God for the right words to help mine and Cody's relationship with the boys remain open and safe-- especially when it comes to the tough issues that are so blatantly thrust into the eyes of children--sex. Caleb is seven and he has definitely shown a curiosity towards the images, words, and sexually oriented commercials that he accidently may come across. It has been a huge burden on me as a mother. I attended a session on our children's sexuality, and finally feel prepared, passionate, and anxious to sit down with each of the boys and talk about genders, how babies are made, and let Caleb know God's beautiful design for sex in Marriage. Oh my, but Oh yes, it is absolutely necessary to give them the foundation of Truth about sex, before they are bombarded with the shameful, dirty, perverted images of sex that they will most definitely be presented with in the near future. I know I was when I was young, and fortunately my parents had given me clear boundaries.
Other prayers were answered, some of which I am not ready to elaborate on, but something that I would like to shout off the rooftops is the awesome friendships I made...not just having fun, but being able to deeply discuss our hearts, laugh at and with each other, cry with each other (oh my, I would never call myself a "crier" until now). My cup overflows with this blessing, as I thrive off of this deep relationships. And the best part is each of those women's hearts for God resonated with mine and we were able to love each other with the Grace of Christ. We lived the verse, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." Romans 12:15.
I will post pictures soon!
Megan (being 8) is starting to have questions about sex that I don't want to answer (why can't they stay little forever)! I wish I had heard that talk so I could find the right words! Hope it all goes well with Caleb!
ReplyDeleteI have been avoiding questions, but realized that now that Caleb can read I really need to give him a solid foundation on what s-e-x is so that he doesn't start out with an image of it, that we will be working against through the teen years. There are some great age appropriate books out there...I will send a link if I can find them. It helps to have those resources so your reading together and not having to explain it on your own. As far as puberty goes, something else that I have heard before is to talk to them before they actually reach the stage...that way the embarrassment isn't there and once they get to that stage they feel open to talk to you about it. This is the rough outline she gave us for when to talk to your kids about what:
ReplyDelete3-5 yr olds: generalize how babies are made, talk about gender differences, good touch vs. bad touch
7-9 yr olds: specifics on reproduction and God's design for sex in marriage (both parents present if possible)
10-12 yr olds: puberty (by same gender parent if possible)