A conversation with some online friends tonight interested me greatly. We were joking about some of the hard conversations we’ve had to have in our lives, like the time I had to tell my grandmother what the word “pimp” means. Another person piped up and said they had to have a similar conversation with a 15 year old. Someone else thought that 15 was too young, but personally, I feel it is a bit too old.

I’ve been talking frankly with my kids about sex since they were very young, telling them things I thought they might need to know and answering their questions honestly, as I felt it was age appropriate. The way I look at it is that they will hear these things sooner rather than later, and I want them to have accurate information.

By age 15, you can rest assured that most, if not all, kids are talking about sex, and you need to make sure they have accurate information about preventing disease and unwanted pregnancy so you and your kids are not caught by surprise. This doesn’t mean you have to condone kids having sex, but arm them with accurate information. Plus, there’s no greater deterrent to kids having unprotected sex than a google image search on “genital herpes.” You’ll have to trust me on this one.