Friday, April 24, 2015

More Than Just The Talk by Jonathan McKee

One of the most important talks parents need to have with their kids is also one of the most awkward talks to have...the talk about sex.  What do you say?  How do you say it?  Am I going to encourage sexual behavior by being too open?  Will I scar them for life if I don't say the right things?

In his book, More Than Just The Talk:  Becoming Your Kids' Go-To Person About Sex, Jonathan McKee answers these questions and others.  Not only does he address how to talk with your children about sex, but he also tells you what to talk about.  There are chapters on what to say to boys, what to say to girls, how to address topics like masturbation and how far is too far.  He talks about some of the tougher theological questions and balances them with real life application.  An excellent example of this was when he admitted that the Bible never explicitly says masturbation is wrong, but it does say that lust is wrong and it is nearly impossible to masturbate without lust.  Everything presented encourages a frank, honest conversation with kids and encourages parents to be open to any questions kids may ask.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart and sadly, hasn't been addressed in the most helpful way by Christians in the past.  Growing up, my parents and my church gave me a simple, but superficial, "Don't have sex until you are married."  All the sexual knowledge I had came from the Cosmopolitan magazines that belonged to the mom of kids I babysat, which seldom lined up with what the Bible teaches and often were written by ghost writers who just made the stuff up as they wrote.  It would have been great to have a caring adult in my life, armed with this book, ready to share what Jesus' truth about sex really was.

This book is intellectually honest, Biblically based and well grounded in real life.  The author spent years in youth ministry and shares the approaches that have worked best for him and the parents of kids he ministered to over the years.  While some Christians may be shocked at the frankness of some of the sections, this is exactly what is needed in an age where it is easier to find answers in Google than it is to ask an adult you trust.

I highly recommend this book to any parent with kids of any age or anyone in youth ministry or who works with kids.  Following the advice in this book will set you up for that valuable one-on-one relationship that is so critical for keeping the communication open between parent and child.

I was provided this book free of charge by Bethany House in return for my honest review.


No comments: