by Arlos » Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:22 pm
*shrug* Maybe I will, maybe I won't. I never particularly cared about having kids, and don't even like most infants and toddlers; they are entirely too annoying, and "cuteness" is not one of my big motivators.
If you want a serious answer, then I'd say it's time to sit him down and have That Talk with him. Needing to have that conversation is a universal condition among people in our society, I think, it just varies a bit by age when it's needed. If you raised him right, he should be willing to listen to you and not be stupid about things. Just don't go into the conversation expecting him to know zip and be condescending, as I guarantee he knows more than you think he does. Hell, I bet most all of us knew more at 11 about sex than our parents thought we did, and TV & Movies are way the hell more blatant and permissive of showing all kinds of behavior now than they were in 1981, I guarantee you.
In any case, this kind of development was inevitable. Trying to cut him off at the knees, so to speak, will only make him hide it from you, not stop. Gotta give him some room for growth, without making things wide open. Difficult balancing act to be sure, but one you have in common with pretty much every mother that ever lived.
-Arlos