Yesterday in class we talked about appropriate times to talk to children about their private parts and eventually the birds and the bees.  I have a couple of different ideas about when and how to talk to children.  First, I think parents need to be aware that each child is different.  Some children will need to have "the talk" before other children do.  For example, I avoided having the talk with my parents and chose to black out most of the things we learned in school about the topic until a couple of months before I got married.  I didn’t want to know about the topic.  My younger sister, on the other hand, goes to school and learns a lot from her classmates; she needs to have at least some things explained to her earlier than I did.  Second, parents need to treat the topic with respect.  It shouldn't be something that parents joke about.  In class, we also talked about the importance of parents being open about the topic.  Even though I am uncomfortable speaking about the topic, I would rather my children get correct information from me; as a result, as a peer mentioned, I need to show them that I am willing to provide them correct information when appropriate.