Oh Crap! She Did It Again!

Dang that Oprah! Here I go again blogging about my love/hate relationship with her.
The only reason I decided to blog about this, is that a couple of you actually asked if I had watched a recent episode and what my thoughts were. First off, thanks for even caring what I have to say. That's nice.
The episode people were talking about was the one about talking to your kids about sex. If you haven't seen it. All I can say is.... WOW!
Some things I really loved, and some things made me really uncomfortable. I actually watched the whole thing and then made Seth watch it with me again.
I tried to find a clip on youtube, of my favorite quote from the show, but I couldn't find the one I wanted. Anyway I found it really profound. This woman who is the editor of seventeen magazine was talking about a recent study that had been done about teenagers and sex and talking with their parents. Here is what she said:
"It's clear that these girls (in jr.high) are doing and talking about very advanced sexual things and what they really want their mothers to talk about with them, is the emotional side. They want their mothers to talk to them about, how do I know if this boy is just using me? How do I know if I'm ready for it? That's the part where mothers play a huge role that the internet and their friends just can't do."
I really liked that, because it's a great reminder that a mothers role is so important (more than friends and more than the internet) and we shouldn't overlook how important a role it is.
Another thing I really liked, was when the they talked about not freaking out when your kid tells you something you don't want to hear. The best way to get them to stop talking to you in the future is to make a big deal about something they are trying to be honest with you about. I liked that because it reminded me of some advice my good friend Carolyn K gave me. Those of you who know her would agree she's a great mom and from personal experience if you ever need advice I would go to her.
I hate that we live in a world where we have to talk to our kids about sex when they are still in elementary. We all want our kids to stay young and innocent but the bottom line is it's 2009 and things aren't the same as when we grew up. The show was trying to address the point that the more we talk about things with our kids the more they will feel comfortable and not feel like everything is taboo and bad. I do agree with that part.
That said, as I watched the show I had to remind myself that our church and the teens in our church are not like the rest of the world. Of course they hear and know about things.... but giving your teenage girl a vibrator? Really? Yes, that's what they were saying to do.
As always, after I watch Oprah I'm right back where I started. She bugs me and a lot of what she said bugged me, but I still watched it. When will I learn?