Buzz When it comes to sex,
the greatest gift I can give
my son is knowledge.

“Th^Ae^bout Talk”

By Perry McGuire

© PhotoAlto

I WAS DETERMINED to discuss sex with my son, Reed, before his 13th birthday — and being a good procrastinator, I completed the project with just a few days to spare.

I was inspired to do this by many things. My dad never did it for me, and I learned about all these incredibly important issues in the exact opposite way that I wanted Reed to learn about them.

I was also challenged and encouraged by John Eldredge’s book Wild at Heart (Thomas Nelson). I learned some of the reasons why I am who I am, based on my relationship with my dad. And I wanted to change that cycle for my son.

Raising a Modern-Day Knight by Robert Lewis (Focus on the Family) also inspired me to teach Reed how to be a man. Despite today’s politically correct blurring of gender differences, God made men for specific purposes, and it’s important for Reed not only to know these purposes but to be confident in practicing and defending them. I learned there are age points when a boy needs to know he’s becoming a man and there are things he needs to know about his body and his behavior at each age.