Dr. Sharon Maxwell spoke to a group of Montessori directors at the Association of Illinois Montessori Schools about protecting our children from learning about sex, emotional intimacy, and sexuality from the school bus and playground. Dr. Maxwell, a clinical psychologist for 20 years, has written several articles and a book on sex education.
A couple of points she made that impressed me are:
– always be a source of truth for your child
– have the talk sooner than you think your child is ready, and use words and terms that are developmentally appropriate
– encourage your child to self reflect as much as possible to help develop self-awareness so children are not as influenced by others for their future self image
Dr. Maxwell also recommends reading Peter Mayle’s book, Where Did I Come From? to your children.
How will you have “the talk” when the time comes?
