Customer Reviews

Before I Was Born (God's Design for Sex)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book was a real lifesaver. I knew my 8 year old daughter and I needed to "talk," but where to start? Happily, this series of books was recommended to me. It explains sex with a Christian bias--hallelujah! But even those who are not deeply religious would appreciate this book. The pictures accompanying the text are very beautiful drawings. The book starts off talking about how God made the world, how He made boys and girls, what boys and girls look like when they are born and as they grow older. The context is all very positive...God made our bodies and we should be proud of them! The pictures are very tasteful and not graphic. Halfway through the book (which is designed for a parent to read to their child), the book talks about God's plan for marriage. It goes on to talk about a wedding, and the promises a married couple make to each other. "Friends bring gifts to a wedding," the book reads, "God has a special gift for new husbands and wives, too. It is called sex. And sex is a gift that they can enjoy the rest of their lives. God's rules say that only people that are married to each other should have sex. it is God's way of making families strong." What a beautiful explanation! The book goes on to explain exactly what sex is, and that this is the way babies are made. (No graphic pictures of sex, the picture on this page is of a married man and woman snuggling in bed, with the covers up to their arms, but without clothing on their arms and chests. Only the male chest really shows). The next several pages of the book explain about pregnancy and the growing baby inside of a mother and concludes with the mother giving birth. I must admit that my husband was a little squeamish about the picture of the baby coming out between the mother's legs. My daughter loved this book and thanked me for explaining things to her. She confessed that she had thought, before I read this book to her, that "sex" was a BAD word! Now she knows so much better, and it has opened up an amazing dialogue between us. I feel secure, for now, that she feels very comfortable coming to ME with any questions she has about her body, growing up, and sex----and in this day and age, that is a real comfort! At the same time, I feel like this book is geared more towards 7-8 year olds than the advertised 5-8 year olds. I know a lot of 5 and 6 year olds who are just not curious enough about their bodies and sex to warrant as full and complete description as this book gives. It was perfect for my very bright, curious, 8 year old daughter at age 8.

I had a hard time finding a book that I was comfortable giving to my 8 year old daughter, but this book did the job! We are a Mormon family, and I am very happy with this book, as it puts sex into the context of being a gift from God for husbands and wives. It refers to Bible scriptures, and discusses sex as a way to begin a family within marriage. The pictures are beautiful watercolors, so they aren't shocking for a child to view. It explained how sex works, and helped to begin a comfortable discussion with my daughter. I am very impressed with this book, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to begin a similar discussion with their children.

My husband and I have two boys under the age of ten and we are facing issues with sex. Our children are hearing about sex from children at school and on the bus. We are a Christian family and want our children to have Christian views on something so important. We bought the whole series and our boys now have all the answers they need from us. Thank you so much for this series.

I bought this book for my 8 1/2 year old daughter and after reading it, I couldn't bring myself to give it to her. I was ok with it until they started to describe the sex act. In my opinion this book was WAAAAAY too descriptive for 5 to 8 year old. It, in so many words, decribes an orgasm! "Body parts fitting inside others, semen flowing inside of her and bodies feeling good all over." It sounds graphic and I paraphrased it!!! That's just unnecessary for a parent who desires to teach the basics of sexuality to a young child.

I found the book "Where Do Babies Come From?", by Ruth S. Hummel, more appropriate for my child. It is a kid friendly narrative story with pronuncuations, illustrations, and careful explanations.

I think this book over sensationalizes sex. I'm not prepared to explain ejaculation to my 8 1/2 year old. Some parents may be, but I am not. I believe in keeping children children as long as possible. I am open and honest with my daughter about puberty and sex, and I answer every question that she has, but I think this book can wait until she's 12.

what a wonderful way to explain the facts of life to children! it anticipates the questions that your children will have and answers them in a thoughtful and Godly fashion. I recommend this whole series.

To the parents who wrote that children ARE NOT thinking about these issues, you are really fooling yourself and in denial. I'm certainly not pleased to be facing this topic with my seven year old, however children are questioning these issues a lot sooner than we ever did.
This book is a good tool to explain to an already inquisitive child.

This book has been recommended to me by several friends who wanted a way to teach their young children about sex from a Biblical persective. It is clear and simple in teaching how husband and wife have a family, without adding information that may unsuitable for children in this age group. Even the drawings are styled for children, much like any other book for kids, and are tastefully discreet.

This book, in the "God's Design for Sex" series is a good book to read with your child. The only complaint I have with the series is that I think the information given is too explicit for the ages recommended. I would wait until my child is at least 8 to read this book with him. The same with the others in the series, I will be waiting until the last age recommended (or beyond). The series did do a good job showing Sex and our bodies as God designed them to be - important to teach, especially if they will be having "sex/puberty education" from the public school system.

Some reviews think this book is too graphic. If my children lived in a vacuum I'd tend to agree but, alas they do not. I want them to hear it from me and not some misinformed youth who doesn't have their facts straight as happens with so many children. I was shocked when I learned about it from a friend ... at a much younger age than my parents ever knew or even suspected. If you think you're 6+ year old isn't hearing things you most likely need another think.

Kids at this age (at least my son) are so into animals and biology and nature that they are just sponges. They accept facts at face value without adding all the "dirtiness" associated with sex in our culture. Regarding the intercourse description he just looked at me with a look that said, "are you for real?" I said I was and he kind of went, "oh, okay." It was just another fact of nature to him.

Saturday, June 13, 2009
Before I Was Born
Carolyn Nystrom's Before I Was Born, first published in 1983 and now fully updated, is designed to teach sexual education to children ages 5 to 8. Winner of a Christian Book Award, the volume endeavors to help parents teach children about Godly sex.

The book begins by speaking to parents:

"Many forces will push your children to make bad choices about sex. From their earliest years, children are bombarded by destructive, false messages about the nature of sexual intimacy. These messages come through music, television, the Internet, discussions with their friends, school sex-education programs, and so forth...We believe God means for Christian parents to be the primary sex educators of the children. First messages are the most powerful; why wait until your child hears the wrong thing and then try to correct the misunderstanding?"

Next, the author stresses that each and every one of us was made by God. The Lord knew everything about us before we were born - even our names. After he made the earth and called it good, he made a man and woman and "He said, 'I made their bodies wonderful.'"

Boys, we learn, have a penis and scrotum; the penis sometimes gets hard for a few minutes "but most of the time it stays soft and close to the body." Girls have a vagina, which is a special place where a baby can grow. God made boys this way, so that one day when they grow up and get married, they can make a baby. Eventually, all little boys and girls grow up. Men get hairier and their bodies produce semen. Even though the semen is "too small to see...someday he can use these to help make a baby." Women have breasts and once a month their "womb gets thick and soft. Then a tiny egg no bigger than a dot passes through it." This also means that someday when she's married she can make a baby.

God designed men and women to love each other, and if they love each other for a while, they think about getting married. "But men and women need to choose carefully whom they will marry. Once they are married, God wants them to stay together as long as they both live." Once married, God gives men and women a special gift called sex. They lie close to each other and the man puts his penis inside his wife's vagina. Sometimes when they do this, they make a baby.

The book then describes and pictures what a baby looks like during the first and third trimesters, explaining in a rudimentary way how the umbilical cord works and why babies kick. Then we learn how a baby is born: "The mother feels her womb muscles push hard. She feels her bagina stretch open. It hurts, and it is hard work...Finally the baby's head pops out from the mother's vagina." After the baby is born, the mother feeds him through her breasts.

"Long ago, before the world was made, God planned for this moment, planned for this baby to be formed partly from his mother and partly from his father...God planned you, too. And He has given you a wonderful body. Have you ever thanked Him for it?"

What I Like: God is the center of this book - and that's so refreshing. Readers quickly learn God planned for only husbands and wives to have sex. They also learn everything they need to know about their own sexuality and how babies are made. Throughout, the soft illustrations by Sandra Speidel are ideal. Although we can see a little boy naked, a baby coming out of his mother, and a little girl naked, there are no details. We just get the general idea. In addition, I appreciate the author's tips on reading this book to adopted children.

What I Dislike: Some parents may object to this description, which speaks of Adam and Eve: "[God] saw the man's scratchy beard and the woman's soft breasts and He was pleased." The "soft breasts" part took me be surprise at first, but I also know many children who are curious about whether breasts are hard or soft, and grab them inappropriately.

My only real objection is the description of intercourse: "When a husband and wife lie close together, he can fit his penis into her vagina. His semen flows inside of her and their bodies feel good all over." I don't really want to teach my children that sex feels good. To me, this is just makes premarital sex more of a temptation. I think they'll figure out that sex feels nice on their own.

As you read this book, though, bear in mind the author's warning that your child will - without question - learn about sex elsewhere. Even toddlers and preschoolers are exposed to sex talk and graphics. They probably already know more than you think they do. How much better that they learn the correct facts from loving parents.

Overall Rating: Very good.

Kristina Seleshanko, Managing Editor
Christian Children's Book Review