December 2008 Archives

Milo is going to be quaking in a corner with embarrassment someday, and it’ll all be because of me. It’s not enough that I talk about sex for a living; I have to tell tales about him too.

My parents are here, visiting for the holidays and my mom reminded me of one of Milo’s many funny quips, which sent me down memory lane, remembering our days in Bremerton, WA. Milo was 2 and had plenty to say about his body.

Her favorite was the day Milo and I were sitting on the couch, looking at a book and he looked at me and said, out of nowhere, “I love my penis!”

I love the day we were on our way back to Bremerton from Seattle and we were on the ferry. Fortunately we were in the car.

Milo announced that he was hungry, so I unwrapped a piece of string cheese for him and passed to back to him. He grabbed it and then proceeded to wave it around and yell at the top of his lungs “Cheese penis, mama! Cheese penis!” He did this over and over and over.

I was crying I was laughing so hard and trying desperately to hide it because I didn’t want this to become a regular thing. You’ll be happy to know, it didn’t.

Finally, my mother in law was over visiting and Milo had just awakened from a nap. He was wearing nothing but a tee shirt and sitting on a big arm chair, all by himself.

Suddenly, he leaned back, spread his legs, whapped himself in the crotch and said “Baaaaaalls…baaaaaaaaaaalls…”

Ack!

My wonderful mother in law looked at me; looked at Milo and said “Time for some underpants!”

Indeed.

FREE! The first Monday of the month thru June! From 7:30 to 8:30pm at Mosaic Coffeehouse, 4401 2nd Ave NE, Seattle.

January 5

February 2

March 2

April 6

May 4

June 4

I sure do! It was passed around from girlfriend to girlfriend when I was in Junior High. To refresh your memory, this is the story of a teenaged couple and their mutual deflowering.

As it turns out, this was a groundbreaking book. For the first time, a “first time” was thoughtfully portrayed in adolescent literature. Katherine and Michael are in love and ready for sex.

What sets this book apart is how Katherine thoughtfully approaches her first time, confiding in her mother, getting birth control and making love in a safe place. Michael does not pressure her into her decision, they decide together.

It provides an example of how to have a great first experience and clearly includes all the things I think make up a great first time.

Here’s the link to Amazon – pick up a copy for your favorite teen. But read it again yourself before you pass it along.  http://tinyurl.com/foreverjb

I just finished this amazing book about what the authors call "sexualized childhood" and I am more inspired than ever to help parents help their kids.

One thing I took away from this book is something I hope you will be able to take to heart - it's not your fault. Did you hear me? I'll say it again - It's not your fault.

As parents we hear all the time that we should control the media our kids are exposed to - they shouldn't have unfettered access to TV shows, video games and other media. WE need to stop buying our kids Bratz dolls and violence themed toys.

This is all true - we should control what our kids have access to.

However - we did not decide to produce these products and shows. Big Business did.

We did not decide to sell "pink" and "princess" and "sexy" to our girls. Bid Business did.

We did not create toys with war and violence themes. Bid Business did.

Big Business wants us to buy this stuff - they do not care about the impact on our kiddos. They care about money, money, money and that's it.

So give yourself a break. This is a cultural problem and while you can't fully combat it - our kids will be exposed to this stuff - you can talk about it with your kids and spend a little time making sure you understand what it is your kids are watching on TV.

If it's not appropriate, explain why and find alternatives. You'll be glad you did.

All I want you to know is that the HIV rate in the US among people aged 13 to 25 increased from 13% of all new infections to 16% in the last two years.

Ouch.

Once your kids are 12 or so, when you say sex, say condom.