Dads: When you had "the talk(s)" with your son, how did that go down?

My therapist threw a book at me last night and told me I was two years late. Sheesh! At age nine, I didn’t even know what the f-word meant. When a neighbor kid told me, I didn’t even believe it.

So I’m supposed to read this book (it’s a thick book, filled with drawings— you know the sort), and thus explain to him the realities of sex and love—in particular, making sure he knows the dangers of AIDS and how to protect himself. I’m pretty sure his school covers that stuff.

What I don’t know about is whether anyone covers love and the relationship between love and sex, and god knows, how the hell do you know when you are in love. How many times a day do we get that question? For some reason, the “could I be pregnant” questions have disappeared. Are they being modded?

I know what to say. What I don’t know is how to feel normal saying it. It’s one thing talking to a teen or a young adult over the internet about this, but it is quite another talking to someone you have to live with every day who is barely a tween about it.

Do you remember your feelings about the talk? Did you do it once or over a period of time? Did you do “just the facts, son” or did you talk about feelings, too? Did you talk about what sex means to you?

If you haven’t given the talk, did you receive one? How did that feel? Mothers, did you ever have to give the talk to your son? How did you feel about that? Any older sisters or brothers who explained the facts of life to a brother?