Thread by @ninjasexology

Parenting thing I have recently grasped: When your kids ask a sex-related question, resist the urge to ask "Why do you want to know that?"

It puts the kid in an awkward position if they have to try to articulate that.

Or they worry you'll think that they watched something they shouldn't have.

Or that you'll blame one of their friends for bringing up this topic.

Just assume they want to know because they are curious humans who want to learn.

If your kid dropped a random question about how weather works, or electricity, or how plants grow from seeds, odds are you'd just answer...or help them figure it out if you didn't know.

Don't treat sex any differently.

I would, of course, make an exception if I thought my kid or someone they know was in a bad/abusive situation.

But I'd do my best to show them I was asking to help rather than judge.

This thread courtesy of me trying to understand why my kids ask me so many sex/body questions when my teen/preteen self would have done almost anything to avoid approaching my mom.

My mom, who I knew was pro-birth control and realistic about teens having sex. I was never in danger of being thrown out of the house or grounded forever.

But the few times I asked her things, I got grilled about my motives. Extensively. And it sucked.

I think the other lesson I learned is to pause and remember what it felt like to be that age, and answer them in a way my younger self would have appreciated.