8 Ideas for Keeping The Talks Fun

-By: Melissa Pintor Carnagey, LBSW-

Contrary to what many of us experienced growing up, talking about topics like sex, bodies, consent, and pleasure doesn’t have to be awkward or boring. It can actually be fun (and I promise that you don’t have to be a sexuality educator to make it happen).

Creating more openness about sexual health topics is a skill that, like all other skills, takes practice. The more you give it a try, the more relaxed and confident you (and your child) will feel. 

To help you achieve this, here are 8 ideas for keeping talks about sexual health engaging and fun at every stage:

For Talks With Littles

• Download the Clementine Wants to Know app by BirdHouse Kids Media. In this interactive resource, your child will meet Clementine, a curious kid who learns she’s having a new sibling. The app is great for the early talks about bodies, relationships, and reproduction. It allows your child to interact and learn where babies come from, how pregnancy works, the diversity of families, and how to take care of a new baby.
• Cue up a video by AMAZE Jr and join Scoops and Friends to learn things like why bodies are private and what gender is all about. These short, animated, and funny videos will help you build a foundation for sexual health and the trust to keep talking together.

• Grab some play dough (or make your own) and use it to sculpt body parts. You can start with making parts like eyes, noses, and hands, getting creative talking about how diverse they can develop on every body. Then introduce other parts like vulvas, penises, breasts, testicles, and uteruses. It’s a great opportunity to use accurate terms for body parts, explore functions, and build the body literacy that keeps kids informed and safer. 

For Talks With Tweens

• As your tween heads into their puberty journey, don’t underestimate the power of connection as a way to help them feel prepared and supported during the many changes. Play a few rounds of Two Truths and a Lie: Puberty Edition. Take some time to think back and come up with two true statements and one false statement related to your own puberty journey and tween years.

  

  Share each statement with your tween and see if they can tell which ones really happened and which one is the lie. The quirkier and funnier the memories, the better. It’s a powerful opportunity to use storytelling to strengthen your connection.
• Watch Every Body Curious, a video series made just for tweens. It simulates a modern, sex positive sexuality education classroom taught by two of our favorite educators, Nadine Thornhill and Eva Bloom. With episodes on topics like genitals, digital do’s and don’ts, relationships, gender, and pleasure, it’s a great way to take the awkwardness out of taboo topics as you learn (and laugh) together!
• Check out the fun (and funny) animated videos by AMAZE, offering tweens medically accurate, inclusive, and sex positive education on topics like bodies, consent, healthy relationships, identity, sexual health, online safety, and more. 

For Talks With Teens

• Get curious with Ask Roo, a free chatbot created by Planned Parenthood. Roo is available 24/7 to answer any sex ed question you or your teen may have. Nothing is too awkward or too tough for Roo to answer. It’s a great resource to share with your teen, so they have access to honest confidential info, especially if it’s on topics they’d rather learn about on their own.

• Pop some popcorn and watch a show together that will be sure to get you both talking about sexual health and an array of issues relevant to today’s teens. Some great ones to start with are Pen 15, The Baby-Sitters Club, Never Have I Ever, and Sex Education. Some of these series may have more intense themes than others, so be sure to head to Common Sense Media for insights, viewer reviews, and ratings on these shows and more.

The goal of keeping talks fun is to create a connection that sends the message that no topic is taboo and positions you as a trusted resource your child feels comfortable talking with about anything. You don’t have to make all these ideas happen at once or within a certain time period. Start with one activity and see how it goes.

Remember, raising sexually healthy children is about many talks and teachable moments over time, not just one. The more relaxed and honest you are with kids, the more they’ll keep coming to you for support along the path. You’ve got this!

For more great books, videos, articles, and tools to support the talks, head to our Resources section to browse options by age, type, and topic.

For a guide made just for parents and caregivers to tackle sexual health talks at every age and stage, check out our bestselling book Sex Positive Talks to Have With Kids: A guide to raising sexually healthy, informed, empowered young people.