Ready to talk to your kids about sex now?

I woke up to this shocking Daily Mail headline  about four and five year olds having sex at preschool.

Like me, many parents send their children to faith based preschools because we believe that they are safer than regular ones. How wrong this assumption can be.

It's urgent!! We need to step up and be proactive about educating our children and equipping them with the tools they need to survive in a world where sexual perversion has become so pervasive.

Educating our children about sex is primarily the responsibility of parents. Not school, not church, not their peers. It's on us. We need to step up and act NOW!!

Just this Friday, we were talking about it on Twitter. I saw a tweet about 9 and 10 year olds having sex and after I retweeted it, we started talking about the importance of sex education. The discussion soon moved to the appropriate age to talk to kids about sex and when my friend Zinnie said we should let kids be kids, I pointed out that our kids go to school with other kids who already know about sex.

I see what mums like me are concerned about. Why are we telling children in diapers about sex? We should let them grow up, right? Maybe not. It's not just adults molesting kids these days, kids are molesting other kids. Some of these children are victims turned perpetrators and are only passing on what they have learned. I won't be surprised to find out that the five year old who was performing oral sex on other kids was molested herself.

The challenge many parents face is that we do not know where to begin. Our parents may not have talked to us about sex, so we are clueless. Talking to our children about sex can be awkward if we think about it as as having "The Talk" when our children "come of age".

What if we looked at it from another perspective?
Sex and sexuality is just one part of the big picture that life is. We don't set aside one day to teach our children about right and wrong, or about our faith and values. Children are inquisitive and they will ask questions. Every time we answer (or refuse to answer) these questions, we are teaching them.

I think that teaching children about sex should not be an isolated event. We need to listen to them. Let's encourage open conversation and watch them for silent cues.

Now, over to you. How do we protect our children? Please share any helpful tips or suggestions.
Let's learn from you.