P2 sex education book

[butterfliesinmytummy]

Help!!! DD1 is just 7 and has brought home a library book called "Where did I come from? A first look at sex education". It isn't explicit but says that mums have eggs and dads have sperm in their bodies and that they can "join their bodies together" and that "a sperm from the dad meets an egg from the mum". Really not prepared for the questions that are going to follow her reading this... Not very happy that she's brought this home (apparently teachers check what they've chosen in the library), but could be way off the mark - is this the norm? We're not in the UK but at a (very) British school overseas.

The book is really well written but I'm uncomfortable with it being made available for 6-7 year olds. Am I wrong?

If your dd has brought the book home from the library then perhaps she interested in the content and may want to ask some questions. When children ask such questions, then it follows that they are ready to hear the answers. Better coming from you than in the school playground.
I have grandchildren around your dd's age and they have also read the book.

I would expect most 7yos to know the mechanics of sex at at least this level of detail (I'm in the UK) so it may be that you're being a little over-sheltering here and your DD may have heard some talk she half understood at school. If so, getting a book from the library was very sensible and resourceful of her!

(Is she your only? Children with younger siblings perhaps ask questions younger on average as the arrival of a new baby may prompt them?)

I completely agree, the best way to proceed is to let her read it, or read it with her, and give her a chance to ask any questions she may have.

Thanks. She's my eldest and I know kids in the year above who have no inkling of the mechanics of sex. We'll read it together and I'll do my best to answer her questions. She's going to ask me about how bodies join together isn't she?

Seems I am a little out of touch....

I wouldn't really worry about the question. She probably won't be interested in the mechanics of 'joining together' and will ask a variety of questions you'd never have anticipated instead.

She may, or she may surprise you and be interested in something else entirely. My DC was more interested in how the egg and sperm join and what happens next so it may be that you'll need to mug up on blastocyst formation etc. instead!

I would expect her to ask how they join actually, saying 'they join' is incredibly vague and imho likely to get questions. You could probably say 'a special hug' and she'd accept that or you could just explain.

Remember she does not have the concept of sex that we do. Children have no idea about sexual desire or orgasm and so you aren't going to corrupt her by saying that the man puts his penis inside the woman! Try not to be embarassed. She'll probably think the whole thing is very weird.

DS1 just looked disgusted at the information that the man puts his penis inside the woman's vagina. He was not impressed at all. I suspect he'll feel differently after puberty.