Of course discomfort can be felt by the kids as much as by the adults, especiallywhen fathers try to talk to their daughters. If a father can see that his daughteris uncomfortable talking with him about bras and periods then he doesn’t haveto push on regardless. But it might not hurt to acknowledge your discomfort too.‘I’m not sure what to say, but I think it is really important that we can talk about it.When I was a boy the only thing I knew about girls was …’Boys and girls benefit fromwomen and men taking partin this aspect of theireducation.So here are some strategies that other fathers have used: Start when the children are really young so that you get used to it. Pick the bits that you do feel comfortable talking about and find bookswebsites, forums and online resources for the bits that you don’t. If you are a single parent of a daughter who feels uncomfortable talking withyou, together you might decide on a female adult to go to with questions.34We haven’t made it an issue. So it’s justinformation, and it’s there to be asked,and [my attitude is] I’ll tell you, to thebest of my knowledge. If not, I’ll find outfor you and then we can work through it.—Parent of 6 and 8 year olds(girl and boy)I feel really honoured that she is able tocome to me with this.—Parent of 17 year old girlMy son is 10 and he doesn’t askquestions, but my husband won’t evengo there. His parents were never open.They were very shy about their bodies,and everything else. My family wasvery open; I could talk to my Dad aboutanything at any time. So I’m the onehaving to deal with it, and I’m thinking,‘What do I say to my son? How do Iteach my son?’ I don’t know where tostart. He might be hearing things outthere from his mates and thinking, ‘Oh, Ican’t really tell Mum that.’—Parent of 10 year old boy
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