HONEST TALK: a new perspective on talking to your kids about sex

by John W. Fort

A guide for parents of children ages five to eighteen providing a new approach to help children safely navigate the hyper sexual culture we are immersed in. HONEST TALK demonstrates a relational model that helps parents reduce anxiety around conversations about sex with their children. Based on years of work with therapists and pastors across the country, HONEST TALK integrates a Biblical view of God’s design for sex with the latest information on what really helps children strive for sexual wholeness.HONEST TALK discusses the primary elements that help children move toward a resilient and healthy understanding God’s design for sex, emotional awareness, understanding how things like pornography negatively affect us, and developing a parent-child relationship that helps the child grow toward sexual integrity. Then the book walks through what it looks like to have conversations at different ages of childhood that build on each other through the teenage years. Specific topics that parents may have a difficult time knowing how to address, such as thought life, are spelled out in greater detail. Family activities are suggested in each chapter as well as help determining where to begin with your unique child.

Genres: Parenting

223 pages, Paperback

Published April 9, 2019

Reviews

[Ellen Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honest talk was an unexpected book. I wasn't expecting it's invitation to slow down enough to reflect on my story and how that story plays into our direct modeling of life with our kids. John invites us to consider a *different* way of engaging our kids. One that invites us to explore and consider something perhaps different than what we received. He gives helpful guidelines and suggestions. I loved his invitations at the end of the chapters to respond. I love that his book was filled with what felt like grace and embracing of our own stories.
I did find myself wishing that John shared more throughout the book examples(or even scenes from his life as a parent and individual) of emotional awareness or spiritual growth as a result of doing this differently with his kids.
Overall, there are VERY FEW resources for parents that invite us to dig deep while engaging our kids and this book does that. I have already recommended it to several friends and clients and will continue to do so! Thank you for breaking into a topic many aren't talking about and doing so with a level of care that acknowledges the weight that many parents feel.

[K C · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my biggest takeaways is building a relationship and a culture of taking about feelings and see with my kids early, so that when things do come up, we've already started the dialogue. I would recommend this to all parents for sure. I'll be going back to re-read as my kids grow.

[Lendl Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We wish we had read this sooner -- one of the encouragements in this book is to practice having high level conversations on this topic while kids are young to make it easier and more natural to add information as they grow older and are ready for it.