The mother of five said to me, “This weekend is going to be special.” I assumed it was one of her kids’ birthdays or an anniversary of some kind. “I’m going to have “the talk” with my youngest child, the last one. You know she turns 13 in a few weeks.” I stared at her for a few seconds, then realized I needed to close my mouth hoping I hadn’t actually gasped out loud.

“Really? She’s almost 13 and you honestly think she’s clueless about where babies come from,” I asked, thinking surely she going to tell me she was teasing. But she was dead serious, “Oh, her little group of friends is really good,” she said. “None of them know about sex yet and besides they all go to a Christian school.”

“How do you know those other girls don’t know about sex,” I asked wondering how she figured going to a Christian school immunizes kids from talking about sex.

“The other mothers said so. We talked and we all agree none of our girls understand anything, so we’re all going to have the talk this weekend so they will all know at the same time,” she smiled.

I wanted to yell, “Are you kidding me? There’s more than one of you in denial?” I changed the subject because nothing I said was going convince her otherwise. And, I was getting more frustrated by the minute because I learned a long time ago, it’s never too early to start talking.

One afternoon, when he was in the first grade, Travis explained to Jason and me in biological detail how babies were made. Travis had evidently gotten his information at school from his friend Sloan who had overheard a discussion his parents were having with his fifth grade sister. That was the first time I realized you only have so much control over what your kids are exposed to.

Horrified, Jason, the wiser third grader, told Travis to never say anything like that again. Then Travis, looking for backup said, “Mom, isn’t that right?”

Totally unprepared and wondering when Jim was going to get home to rescue me I just said, “Wellll ...” Jason paused for a minute and said, “Nooooo! Really?”

All I could think to say was, “Wellll...”

Then Jason asked the question I knew was next, “That’s not how you got us though, right?” “Wellll...”

“Nooooo!” Jason said. “If that’s what it takes, I’m only going to have one baby.”

“You might change your mind later on,” I smiled.

“I don’t think so,” he said determined

“Well, think of it this way. It’s kind of like broccoli. You really have to be an adult to appreciate it.”