Too Hot, Too Cold, or Just Right? Teaching Children about Sex through Changing Children's Literature

• In Event: Creating Stability in the Midst of Changes Surrounding Parent-Child Communication about Sex

Abstract

Talking to children about sex can be uncomfortable. To avoid discussing this topic, many parents outsource this conversation by using children’s books that answer the question where do babies come from? Many of these books focus on an innocent approach to sex and do not even mention the word “penis.” However, some of these books are increasingly transcending the norms of children’s literature in shocking ways. One book, “Show Me!" is a photographic picture book featuring naked children and adolescents and depicting sex acts in graphic detail, including a full centerfold close-up shot of penetration. The present study addresses this change in sex-based children’s literature and how parents can facilitate stability in their conversations with their children in light of the increasingly graphic nature of these books.

Author

• Brett Lunceford, University of South Alabama