By Ilze van der Merwe & Nikki Bush
Illustrations by Rory Macrobert

‘What 8-13 year olds need to know about their changing bodies, sex, babies their rights and more.”

Raising two young girls in this modern world is very challenging when it comes to a wholesome education about ‘the birds and the bees’.  Especially when trying to get your child to sift through all the confusing input they are faced with.

Have you noticed the uncalled for banner advertising with half naked voluptuous women on kid related websites?  What about the words of some of the very catchy popular songs and their accompanying suggestive videos.  And the magazine covers lining the till isles that raise soooo many questions?  Oh and those lovely friends at school who are a little too exposed to adult goings on and who offer un-vetted and quite often warped information....

Every child needs to get the true facts in a simple to understand form and every parent needs ‘Easy Answers to Awkward Questions’.  This ‘little orange book’ is filled with simple to follow information and easy to understand illustrations that are combined occasionally with a good dose of humour.  Such a the illustration of a little boy standing outside his parent’s bedroom door saying, “Are you and Mum wrestling or something?”...mmmm.

The subjects covered are :

• Your body has rights too - a child’s right to say no if someone wants to touch them inappropriately.
• All about boys – names and functions of reproductive organs, masturbation and circumcision.
• All about girls - names and functions of reproductive organs and masturbation.
• Growing up - discusses body changes into puberty, emotional highs and lows, wet dreams, menstruation, what the meaning of all these changes are, sex meant for two mature adults only, and a number of other important aspects.
• What’s all this about sex and making babies? - discusses sperm, eggs, how fertilisation takes place, diseases and infections you can get and that sex is adults only.
• How are babies made? - details duration of pregnancy, how a baby grows in the uterus, nutrients, natural birth, caesarean birth, belly buttons, umbilical cord, feeding baby after birth etc.
• Words you need to understand - brief descriptions of the following words : heterosexual relationship, homosexual relationship, rape, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, pornography, sexually transmitted diseases, HIV & AIDS, miscarriage, abortion and contraceptives.

There is a strong emphasis throughout the book that ‘your body belongs to you and is private’, that it needs to be ‘respected and protected’.  That you need to look after your body and respect other people’s bodies.  Children are encouraged time and again to speak to someone they trust if something happens with their bodies that makes them feel uncomfortable. 

Important numbers are made available to children in the event of a child needing help, such as ‘Childline’, ‘Lifeline’ and a few others as well as website addresses.

I keep my copy of “Easy Answers to Awkward Questions’ in a safe place (I have a daughter who is not yet 8 and there are a number of visitors to our home who are also not quite ready for this information).   My daughter aged 10 asks me for this book every now and then ‘just to look up stuff’ and says that it is a very interesting book and helps her understand ‘things’ better. It has also opened the door for us to be able to communicate easier about ‘sensitive matters’.  It has allowed me to answer questions such as “Mom, what is a wet dream?” or “When do you start getting hair down there?” 

The best lesson I have learned is that you don’t need to keep a straight face when talking about ‘the birds and the bees’ – it’s nature and nature is beautiful when appreciated in the right way.

Oh and just in case you are not sure - this book is equally good for boys and girls.

Review by Maxine Davies

Order from Kalahari.net

View all product reviews>>