Parents and carers

Why talking about the facts of life matters

When children can talk to their parents about sex and relationships, they are more ready for puberty, understand more about relationships, and are less likely to do things just because their friends are.

Good relationships and sex education can also:

• raise the age young people first try out sexual activity
• cut the rate of teenage pregnancies, abortion and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

How to get started

Help! I’ve never talked about this with them before.

How to go about it.

Talking to children of different ages

Parents often ask “what should I tell them at what age?”

We've put together some guidance about the information children need at different ages. We’ve also got a few of the most common questions children ask, and our suggested answers.

You can find lots more information about this in our book Speakeasy: Talking to Your Children about Growing Up.

Talking with 3–4 year olds.

Talking with 5–8 year olds.

Talking with 9–13 year olds.

Talking with teenagers.

Advice for particular situations

If you're a single parent.

If your child has a learning disability.

Talking about sex and relationships from a faith or cultural view.

Sex in the media.