Talking about sex with children (When the stair gate fails...)

We were caught in the act at the weekend. 'Oh God' the other half said, but there was no moment of pleasure involved. Our determined 4 and 1/2 year old had scaled the gate at the top of the stairs, designed to prevent such an occurrence, should the lure of the TV not be enough to keep her downstairs for 10 minutes.

Luckily for us, she wasn't particularly interested. I explained that mummy and daddy were just playing with each other and she said that she didn't know grown ups played. She was slightly more interested in mummy's toy, but overall the complete innocence of this age and the fact she came up for a reason, prevailed. What we were doing was not particularly important. What was important was that we came down and did what she wanted, right now.

It's easy as an adult to forget how completely innocent young children are. It is such a great thing and it'd be nice to keep it that way for as long as possible. I know of friends who have read books to their 4 year olds that explain the basics of mummy and daddy making love. Personally, I don't think we need to expose her to this unless she specifically asks and then a book that is factual in an age appropriate way would be very useful.

But for now, we need to use the lock on the door for a little while and avoid any further shocks to the system. It rather spoils the moment, and let's face it, we don't get too many of them at this stage.