This morning, Tyra Banks was interviewed by Matt Lauer on the Today Show about her conversations on her daytime talk show with tween and teen girls about their sexual activity and behavior. Tyra was shocked by what she heard. Hopefully, most of us youth workers and parents are not as shocked because we have seen the increase in sexualized media, sexualized culture and sexual behavior in adolescents and pre-teens.

But I have to ask what seems like the obvious here...is not or was not Tyra Banks one of the sexualized images that young girls have been exposed to? How is it that a sexy, succesful model who worked in the industry does not get the power of the very images she produced or was used to produce and their profound effect on body image, sexual identity and behavior? Is it just me or is there a disconnect?

Lest I dwell on that issue, allow me to move on quickly to one good resource for parents and teachers, or anyone who works with young girls (and boys for that matter). For a great introduction to this book and a look at how to ask the good, tough questions of yourself, read this excerpt from So Sexy So Soon.

There are no easy answers when confronted with sexual questions from children, but there are some great questions to ask yourself before you rush to judgment about what a child may be telling you, why they may be telling you, and how not to react.

When to start talking about sex with your children? If you haven't already...your behind. Infancy is the time to actualy start teaching your child about their body. Sexuality is not something that just magically appears at the onset of puberty. Issues of body image, love, relationships, touches, body parts and sex develop in us as we develop from birth. If you've read some of my past posts...you know I too am dealing with these issues with my own children!