More Than Just the Talk

More Than Just the Talk: Becoming Your Kids’ Go-To Person About Sex by Jonathan McKee is a must have handbook for Christian parents that doesn’t hold back with it’s advice for successfully navigating an ongoing conversation with kids about sexuality.

It is so important for parents to be the authority and confidant that kids go to for information and advice. We are inundated with sexual references in the media, and there is no way to completely shelter our children. I was surprised to learn in this book that even some popular video games contain very explicit content. As a former teacher, I can promise you that if your kids attend school, they are hearing about sex. Especially in the middle school years, conversation in the school hallways is usually very graphic, but even in younger grades, kids are not living in a bubble, and homeschool children and church kids aren’t immune:

Sadly, a great chasm is growing between parents and their kids. Most parents have no idea what their kids are downloading and watching, or the kind of conversations they are engaging in each day. Young people stealthily float under the radar, taking full advantage of this disconnect. As a result, the people who abound in misinformation are the ones filling our kids’ ears constantly, and the people who know the truth often only engage in mere minutes of healthy conversation each week (p. 14).

Beginning early, maintaining an atmosphere of trust and communication will go a long way towards paving the way to “the talk.” Author Jonathan McKee honestly and bluntly tackles tough issues in More Than Just the Talk, and provides a valuable resource for parents with straightforward advice about dating, temptation, porn, purity, and other sexual issues–backed by relevant Scripture.

The format of this book makes it easy to use as an “as needed” reference, but it should be read all the way through as a mandatory parenting handbook. If parents establish early on that they are the go-to person their kids can trust for information, many problems are more likely to be avoided. Pretending sex isn’t an issue your kids know about or brushing their questions aside does far more damage than mustering up your courage to tackle difficult issues. If you don’t know where to begin, pick up a copy of More Than Just the Talk: Becoming Your Kids’ Go-To Person About Sex.

The publisher provided a review copy of More Than Just the Talk.