The Talk Survey..

I think 7 sounds rather young. I remember when I was 8, maybe almost 9, I was on a walk with a friend (a boy a year or so older than I) and we saw a tampon applicator in the gutter. He told me what it was, and I remember it so well! He was quite a bit off, but I didn't really care about what he was talking about. Within a year or two, was playing with a friend (a girl my age) and she started making fun of another girl (who wasn't present) because "she thinks that a period is a dot at the end of a sentence." I had no idea what she was talking about, and changed the subject. I didn't care, and most of my friends didn't know much until there was a little movie at school when we were 9 or 10.
I think I'd give her a few more years of innocence. I think the only real reason to discuss it is if she has questions (she may hear things) or if she's likely to get her period soon. That would be terrifying if you didn't know what it was (think My Girl).
That said, I have little kids, so I haven't even thought about having the talk yet!

Simple and honest, 7 isn't to young for the very basics as the questions are asked. I have always done it this way with my kids, as the got older the questions were more in depth. They have no problem talkiing to me, which I am thankfull for, you should hear some of the stuff they come home saying....YIKES!

We gave our kids bits of age-appropriate information as we went, often because they had a question. You can give basic information, enought to satisfy her question for the moment to avoid giving her the feeling that her question was 'taboo'. We felt like this is kind of an ongoing conversation so to speak, that comes up in different ways and places over the years, with the main 'talk' being around 10 or so. We had found a series of books (I apologize, I can't remember what they were called!) that started with extremely basic stuff at a pretty young age (such as the basic physical differnces between boys and girls, the names of body parts, etc.), and getting into more detail as they got older. In their teens, we now have conversations about morals, values, choices and so forth. Because this has been an ongoing conversation, they are pretty comfortable asking questions and sharing concerns over what some of their peers are doing and so forth. I do know that if you wait for very long, they will start coming home with all kinds of interesting and incorrect information. Good luck!

I have a 7 1/2 yr old girl as well--I have received a few questions from her so I have been thinking about this too. FWIW, when it comes down to it I plan on ordering the video in the link I have below for 2 reasons---my pediatrician is in it (although he has never told or tried to sell me on it) and because of the testimonials provided. It just seemed like what I would be looking for. With that said, I would of course preview the video without my daughter. Like you said in your post too---if they can't hear the tough stuff from you they will from someone else and it may not be in agreement with how you would have explained it.

http://www.birdsandbeesvideo.com/index.html

Best wishes.

Hi D.,
We have a book series called, "God's Design for Sex", and it has 4 different books in it. Book 1- The Story of Me (ages 3-5), Book 2- Before I Was Born (ages 5-8), Book 3- What's the Big Deal? Why God Cares About Sex (ages 8-11), and Book 4- Facing the Facts: The Truth About Sex and You (ages 11-14). We have a 6 1/2 yo, almost 5 yo, and a 1 1/2 yo. We haven't yet read Book 2 yet to our boys, because it does describe sex in some detail, but the reasoning of the author is a valid one. Carolyn Nystrom (the author) says that there's really no reason to not talk about something that is basic, and she mentions how in Biblical times, people lived in a farming situation, multiple generations in the same dwelling, and breeding animals was a part of everyday life. Of course, that's not OUR situation today much. But, for me, the more convincing argument is that positive, first messages are always the most powerful ones. If they learn about the basics from you first, then they'll recognize errors and misperceptions when they encounter it in the "real" world. That's hard for me to argue with.