June 2, 2009 / Park Slope / Perspective / Parenting / Smartmom

What Smartmom learned at Babeland

By Louise Crawford

for The Brooklyn Paper

So what did Smartmom learn at the “sex-positive kids” lecture at Babeland?

1. Even an episode of “Gossip Girl” is a great jumping-off point for a discussion about gender identity and intimacy.

2. It’s important to think about what you did and didn’t like about how your parents told you about sex (if they even told you about sex). Do better.

Brooklyn Conservatory

3. Make it clear to your kids that you are always available to discuss, you know, all that that we never like to talk about.

4. As sexologist Amy Levine put it, ‘The Talk’ is not just one talk: it’s an ongoing, casual conversation.”

5. Have those “casual” conversations in enclosed spaces (cabs, subways, elevators) so your kids can’t run away.

6. Find your old copy of “Our Body Ourselves” and leave it out on the dining room table. If you can’t find it, don’t worry it’s been reissued.

7. For practice, say “penis” and “vulva” in the mirror 50 times.

8. If you do buy a hot pink vibrator at Babeland, find a good hiding place.

9. Actually, don’t find a good hiding place. Having your kid find your vibrator is an opening for a discussion about sex.

10. The store has a great selection of multi-colored vibrators!

Louise Crawford, a Park Slope mom, also operates “Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn.”

←Smartmom: Sex Ed 101: Smartmom finally learns how to talk to her kids about sex

→Bay Ridge: The psychic was mugged!

Reader Feedback

Enter your comment below

Name: Neighborhood:

By submitting this comment, you agree to the following terms:

You agree that you, and not BrooklynPaper.com or its affiliates, are fully responsible for the content that you post. You agree not to post any abusive, obscene, vulgar, slanderous, hateful, threatening or sexually-oriented material or any material that may violate applicable law; doing so may lead to the removal of your post and to your being permanently banned from posting to the site. You grant to BrooklynPaper.com the royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual and fully sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such content in whole or in part world-wide and to incorporate it in other works in any form, media or technology now known or later developed.