I Am Rahab……the sex counselor?
(Excerpt from book 2)
It’s no secret to Puah that her older kids are active. As soon as they started smelling themselves, she took them both to the free clinic. Silas got a value pack box of condoms and Rahab birth control pills. As a nurse, Puah has always communicated with her kids regarding their bodies. She’s appreciative that they’re open with her in return, but she can’t help but feel responsible for how active they are. It isn’t normal. Even her ten-year-old, Gomer, exhibits advanced curiosity.
Back in Puah’s day, people were usually more discreet about the matter. It wasn’t the topic of conversation in the home until someone turned up pregnant.
Has the topic of sex come up in your household yet?
For me, it’s a dreaded conversation. Unfortunately, my mother did not do a great job in that department. I was told to, “Stay away from boys. Don’t ever let them touch your kat, and, if you ever come home pregnant, I’ll kick you down a flight of steps!” Period. That was that.
I’ve chosen to take a more gentle and educational approach, knowing that the truth is always better than misconceptions. However, let’s also be mindful that it doesn’t prevent error, it just states the facts. Open communication has to be established.
Ladies, I must admit, I was a wimp when it came to talking about sex. Yes, it probably stemmed from my mother’s lack of communication with me. Still, it was also my fear of opening up issues upon my innocent babies that weren’t ready to be discussed. When is the appropriate age?
For me, every child was different. My oldest was the easiest. He wasn’t influenced by the overwhelming availability of the internet. There wasn’t as much access at home as there is now. How do we control the information that our children partake of, or is there any control?
When I was younger, the primary source of information was schoolyard chat. I can only imagine the range in which it has grown with cell phones now used to verify and illustrate the topics. Oy vey!
I still have one more youngster to go to at home. My baby boy. His father will be approaching him first, thank God. His older brother has even expressed a desire to be a part of the process. I think it’s best to hear multiple sides of the issue, but please don’t tag-team.
I’d love to hear from you and so will our readers…..because we are Rahab, too.
Gone are the days when our parents told us, “do as I say, not as I do”. I feel that it is very necessary that we have these important discussions with our children at an early age, especially in the times that we are currently living in. My husband and I learned this the hard way when our oldest son poured out his heart to tell us that he had an addiction to porn. Although he is much older now, he told us that it started very early, when he was in grade school. He would sneak out of his bedroom in the middle of the night, go into the living room where the computer was while everyone was asleep, to watch this stuff.
Thankfully, as believers, we instilled God into our family because ultimately his faith is what enabled him to have strong convictions; however, like any addiction, you have to stay diligent to fight against it. My son desires to be a youth leader one day and shared his testimony on YouTube. If you are a parent trying to figure out how to have this heavy conversation with your child, I would encourage you to watch it first, and then maybe watch it with your child as a conversation starter.
The world is constantly pushing out distractions and stimulants…not just to adults, but to our children too. It can be very intense and we can’t assume our kids are not doing/seeing/hearing ‘something ‘. As parents, we can at least put the notion into their minds that we are aware of the possibility, and that may keep them away from those heavy issues (not just sex) and/or help them talk about it with you. Hopefully, they aren’t doing anything they shouldn’t be doing, and that will be a great thing.
Thank you, for sharing this information.
My mom read me a book I honk called where baby’s come from, it was kid friendly with big cartoon pictures of a baby and the reproductive system. However, it was very vague and didn’t answer questions I might have been afraid to ask. Like is sexy enjoyable and how do you know when your ready?
For my oldest who are 2 years apart I talked to them about respecting girls, no means no, and that just because they were boys they didn’t have to feel Pressured to have sex to prove their manhood. My youngest a girl was harder, because I wanted to make her comfortable talking to without giving the message it’s ok to have sex. I did answer the hard questions for her and she said mom TMI.
That’s where I am. TMI, mom. Noooo! I learned in school. I don’t want to hear it. Lol
This topic needs to be discussed in my home as well.