More Than Just the Talk - A Book Review

I grew up in a home that did not talk about sex.  I still remember "the talk" my mom had with me when I was much too old to just then be having the talk.  I simply informed her that I already knew about it and after a few embarrassing moments and comments we went back to what we were doing beforehand and never talked about it again.  Really, I didn't know very much, but I was too embarrassed to talk about it with my mom and I figured I heard and would continue to hear enough at school to fill in the gaps.  I will say I filled in the gaps pretty badly.  I'll spare you all the sordid details of my misconceptions, but lets just say it was far from being lined up with what the Word of God says.

Now I am a mother myself and times have sure changed since I was a young girl.  Kids face much more and at an earlier age than anything I ever faced.  We live in a world where sex is everywhere you look.  It's not only exposed to our children's eyes, but their ears as well.  I am thankful to be a homeschool mom.  There are strict rules in place in our home, but no matter how strict the rules you can not shelter your kids from everything.  Standing in a grocery store they merely have to look at the magazines in the checkout line to be bombarded with sexual images and words, shopping in a clothing store or eating in a fast food restaurant a song comes over the speakers with sexually explicit lyrics or even sitting at home watching a family show on television a commercial comes on that is not fit for christian adults eyes let alone a young person.  

It's important to keep and open line of communication with your children, to talk to them about sex.  Will it be embarrassing at times?  Yes.  Will it feel awkward?  Probably.  But if you do not talk to your teenager I can guarantee that they will get their knowledge elsewhere.

More Than Just the Talk:  Becoming Your Kids Go-To Person About Sex by by Jonathan Mckee is a book for parents.  It is very informative in opening a parents eyes to what young people are faced with on a daily basis.  It equips parents with the "how to's" of how to face the challenges of talking and keeping an open line of communication with your teen.  It's very straightforward.  The author does share plenty of Bible verses and I think it is a good book for parents with public schooled children.  Maybe it was too straightforward, but something about the book made me a little uncomfortable.  Maybe the fact that it was written my a man and I'm just old fashion.

With that being said...I have to say, that I think there are better books out there on the subject of sex that are more suitable for christian and homeschool families.  Don't get me wrong.  I know that just because I homeschool doesn't keep my family immune to the world, but I think that for our family a different book is better suited for us.  Yes, we talk about sex. I just approach it differently than this book advises.  If I had a kid in public school I would probably have a different opinion, but since I don't and my teenager is not exposed to worldly things at such a high level I feel that a more Christ centered approach is better for us.

***This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.