Due to lots of school and country moves my son (12 next week) has missed out on any formal sex education. I have covered most of it with him as I have always answered his questions as and when he has asked them, so I don't think anything will be too much of a shock, but I know that the boys are talking about this sort of stuff at school at the moment, and I want to make sure he has his facts straight.

Can anyone recommend a book suitable for his age that covers this and general aspects of puberty, growing up etc

Thanks

I'm working through a book with my son who is 9, but he's ready for it as, like your boy, there's a lot of talk in the playground and I'd rather he had facts to balance out the gossip. It's Let's Talk About Sex by Robie H Harris and covers much more than sex itself - puberty and growing up as you've mentioned, changing bodies, hygiene, as well as different types of families, contraception, masturbation etc. It's done in a very gentle manner with good cartoon illustrations. My son is really enjoying it, and it's opening up conversation on a variety of subjects and helping him to feel relaxed about discussing his growing body (though I did draw the line when he asked me how often dh and I have sex!).

There are other books like Unzipped by Mark Whyman, and (I think) Living With A Willy but they're aimed at older boys and may be a bit too advanced for some boys who've not had a basic grounding. I'm leaving those till ds is comfortable with the earlier book.

I'd second Lets Talk About Sex - it's aimed at about 9-12 year olds and covers a lot of stuff in quite a straightforward way. You've probably covered most of the topics anyway, but it's good to have a resource book to make sure it's all clear.