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Talking about puberty with your kids can be tough. Especially as christian parents.
As far as phases of life go, puberty is probably the most awkward.
Pimples, body hair, strange new odours, breasts, cracking voices, and the list goes on.
The transition from childhood to adulthood makes for some strange new life experiences.
Talking about Puberty: Unintended Consequences
Parents are often tempted to avoid talking about sex to their kids while still talking about puberty. Why do these parents do this? I know a couple reasons:
Reason #1: Preserving Innocence
The most common reason is a desire to preserve the childish naivety of their children. They are trickling information out to their kids on a need-to-know basis, because too much information about sex, they say, only robs a child of his or her “innocence.”
But we do not protect a child’s innocence by preserving their ignorance. Innocence is not a function of having less information. It is a function of attitude. And training a child to have a Godly attitude about puberty means informing them of God’s perspective on the subject.
Reason #2: Sex Talks = Awkward
The other common reason why parents do this when talking about puberty with their kids is because they are avoiding the personal awkwardness of having conversations on intercourse. They simply cannot picture themselves talking about private parts let alone talking about how they go together.
But if your goal is to make conversations less awkward for you by avoiding the subjects of intercourse and baby-making, in the end it only makes it more awkward for your kids. By avoiding the big WHY behind the changes they face when talking about puberty to them, puberty can feel like a cruel joke, not a purposeful change.
Missing the Whole Point of Puberty
Puberty is primarily about one thing: sexual maturity. This fact is patently obvious to parents, but it is also the one thing many conservative parents avoid when talking about puberty.
Your little boy is not just “becoming a man.” Your little girl is not just “becoming a woman.” Becoming a man and becoming a woman mean something more than just “growing up.”
It means entering a phase of reproductive maturity where your son or daughter is physiologically changing—God-willing—to someday get married, and have babies of their own.
When we only talk about the details of the changes of puberty but miss the central theme of this whole transition of life, it is like putting together a puzzle with no border. When talking about puberty to our kids, we need to give our kids a frame to understand WHY all these changes are happening.
The good news God has given us that frame for understanding puberty, both in the natural revelation of how he created our bodies and the special revelation of His holy Word. – intoxicated on life
Online Reporter