It was 1969. I was in the 5th Grade - yes, I'm old! I sat behind Roland Rodriquez. I was a sweet little 5th grader, raised in church - very naive. Roland opened my mind - maybe not in a good way. He taught me all kinds of 4 letter words - complete with definition, spelling. He definitely expanded my vocabulary! Which is funny because I don't think he did very well in school himself. My parents would never have talked to me about the things Roland talked to me about. They definitely never used those words. I really didn't think they did those things...........(of course I'm the baby of 4 girls..........maybe they did just 4 times by accident.??...) All day long I sat at my desk spellbound learning new things from my friend. I learned it all at the age of 9 at school - and that was way back in 1969!I've had a couple of conversations with PeeWee parents in the last week about SEX - not really about sex, but about things of the world that they didn't want their child exposed to -yet. These conversations reminded me of my friend Roland.
As a parent you want to protect your child from worldly adult things - and you should. As a parent, you don't want to use the word sex and your child's name in the same sentence. It creeps you out. You want to avoid. You want to wait. Especially PeeWee families think they have plenty of time to talk about that subject.
Whether you are ready or not, your PeeWee sees people at the store and in the neighborhood. Whether you are ready or not, they talk to other children that may not be raised in a home like yours. Whether you are ready or not, there is someone in your life that:
- Is divorced
- Is living with someone they aren't married to
- Is pregnant
- Is getting married
- Is married
All of these subjects bring questions to a child's mind. Most of these involve sex. Now, believe me, I'm not a proponent of exposing small children to adult subjects. But I do believe that as a parent you need to be entering conversations about marriage and family with your PeeWee. You need to help them see what God says about these subjects. You need to make sure that they know that you are available to talk about these subjects with them. One day they will have really deep questions and concerns - who do you want them to ask then?
Roland or you?????????
There is a reason I remember his name 40 years later, because I only had 1 class with him that year. He played a role in my life.......he wasn't chosen by my parents.........but he played that role. In 1969, you didn't talk about that stuff.
Today..........there are a wonderful set of books that help you start those conversations. The wonderful thing is that they are written from a Biblical perspective. They are not crude, and they present God's perfect plan. They can help you talk to your children about the fallen world we live in and God's plan in all of it. They help you celebrate with your PeeWee the beautiful way God created each one of them. God's Design for Sex is a set of 4 books. Each is written for a specific age child. I recommend all parents get them and use them at the appropriate times.
Remember..........it's Roland or you?
Your choice............
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