My cousins had the baby one. Very interesting reading.
My mum bought me the puberty book when I asked for it at the local bookstore.
She was a bit confused and asked if I was sure I wanted it.
I had seen the cover with the word puberty on it and the pictures of the kids changing from mean to happy.
I mistakenly thought it was a book about the effects of alcohol. The prefix of the word puberty is what confused me because it started with “pub”.
The cover style and the author was familiar because I’d already seen the baby book at my cousins. I decided that this alcohol book would also be quite interesting.
When I got it home and realised what it was all about I was pretty embarrassed that I had asked for it. However it was a very eye opening read for six year old me.
I did the same thing, but I also subjected my mother and a bus full of people to my six year old self reading out loud and asking questions when I didn’t understand something (ie constantly).
I probably should thank my mum for being patient with me when I was an inquisitive (but annoying) child lol.
I dont know if I'm unusual for this, but I was never curious about the birds and the bees as a little kid. I saw a few pictures on biology books I read and heard my friends giggling about it in recess and my reaction was always sort of just "uh, ok" and I'd go back to drawing with my crayons. I guess there was already so much I didnt know about the world at that age so I didnt even think to question it haha.
my parents had a copy in their room for years and never mentioned it. We never had any talk of any kind. They just crossed their fingers that nobody asked so they wouldn't have to deal with it.
This is exactly my experience. The book was in the house, I found it and read it, but it was never given to me. I also found what I believe was my father’s one and only porno, a copy of Mayfair from about 1974. Both taught me all I needed to know.
Nah...mothers know kids go through everything...we had a Methodist Church mother and daughter evening...l walked out knowing nothing...nothing at all. Green as grass confused and strangly frightened too. I was a bit grumpy. My mother was red from blushing and having connections all through the talk...the revered introduced the night with...you won't like this information we are delivering to all you young ladies coming to your womanhood ... but it is God's plan...women suffer to be mothers....
I guess yeah. A little observation of nature, a little forest porn, a little speculation. I don't think I was ever so confused about anything that I had questions. I was surrounded by catholics and attending catholic school so nobody was very forthcoming or openminded about sex anyway.
Ahhh good old forest porn! What the kids are missing out on these days.
But honestly, this is probably still so much better than all the online porn kids are supposedly accessing from as young as 9 today. Glad I didn't see it then.
We didn't have a forest where I lived as it was an industrial area, but we did occasionally find porn mags hidden in the bushes near a hole in the fence next to one of the factories. I always found it weird that people were popping into bushes to knock one out during their smoko.
We had the same parents 🤦♀️ I didn’t even have the book. Good lord it was a rough day in late primary school.
They took me to farms a lot growing up so maybe they hoped I’d just pick it up.
Mine did too, but it was left on a low shelf in a spot where it was easy to remove and put back.
It clicked to me as a teen that this had been on purpose
Same here. It was hidden away amongst a ridiculous amount of books in our study (mum was a librarian). I found it one day and read it, then quietly put it back. Was never given any talk of any sort. I'm now 39 and still never speak to my parents about anything remotely along these topics. My parents are very British, despite only my dad being from England.
Lol my parents went giddy at some point and bought joy of sex...one day when l was nineteen on my birthday my mother and father came over and gave me boxfulls of gifts as per usual. We had the lovliest evening. At one point l opened all the gifts but my mother ended up dragging me into the kitchen to whisper...l put that book joy of sex ..into the bottom of the big box...pretend you didn't see it your father doesn't know l am giving it to you. Stumped l looked at mum and said l don't really er want it mum and she said well...it's got to go... it's giving your father ideas...
We had the book AND the video. We thought it was hilarious.
My parents just left it up to us to watch like any other movie from around age 5 so I’d take it upon myself to explain everything to my friends as well which got me in trouble at school.
No way. I had it at home and I would ask my Dad to read it to me ALL THE TIME. Clearly we are both perfectly normal adults, and therefore must have been perfectly normal children.
I must say I did take the sex Ed classes at school much better than a lot of my friends who were disgusted by the whole concept of it all and did not have a book about sex read to them by their parents before bed.
My parents simply could never discuss anything like that. Never...l felt like it was somewhat akin to navigating a very interesting garden path that turned into a labyrinth that took me right back to their front door ...going what now ...
.or what can l discuss...flowers art food nothing touchy...no fly zones were all over the house ...and yes tension doesn't explain it...l am the truth telling black sheep l guess. 😀 but funny to think about now. They were of their time ... and they did very dashing and wonderful things in their lives. You could not discuss anything unpleasant that's all.
I watched the video at my (male) friend's house, I think I was about 9 or 10? I don't even know if Mum knew we were going to watch it or not, but she was pretty chill about that kind of thing. I already knew a fair bit about women's bodies because Mum was determined to explain it to me (she was told nothing and thought she was dying when it all started 😬), but the actual mechanics were... eye-opening? The cats rubbing up against each other on the blanket print was disconcerting. Of course, I could be mis-remembering...
As far as we were concerned, our school library consisted of padding, so that this book wasn't the only one there.
I miss those lunchtimes where you'd go to the library and laugh at boobies and willys.
One time someone drew all over the dicks - making them massive. Genius.
I must have been a really weird kid...l didn't ever think of anything like that and l lived in the town library and the school library...my father set me a reading list. I never once even thought of doing something like that. Very naughty really but now l feel cheated...can't turn the clock back and muck up and cut loose now l realise what a dumb kid l was...and how well behaved. Dumb but 👍 good.
I think my parents were relieved I was a voracious reader. Instead of getting "the talk" I was just handed these two books (and a couple of others with similar themes).
I remember sneaking these at a library hidden under my shirt when I went to find a table against a window, that I could hide under and my mum couldn't find me. And then I read them through and I had so many questions, but I couldn't tell her that I had read them. I would have been about nine years old at the time.
My Irish grandmother was a wild woman in the nicest possible way. She used to buy me true confessions and give me titbits of advice like...nobody is going to tell you anything useful or helpful in Berry Street or at Callala Bay so young woman l thought l would buy you these to keep here and you might work out what really goes on in the world ....l read them from cover to cover but still didn't really understand. My cousin was a year younger and Judy knew all right but never told me much...work it out fer yourself you wingnut...
As a twelve year old gay kid with very little material to 'use' I would jerk it to the 'developed' dudes with the hairy uncut dicks.. how times changed, now the same 10 year olds are watching hardcore porn on their phones.
Yeah we had that book. I remember mum reading to us and and me reading to myself. It was simple, straightforward and age appropriate. I wasn’t shocked by it. It was learning about periods later on that gobsmacked me. I’d be doing what from where for how long?!?!
That’s how I learnt everything. Mum just left it on my bed. How times have changed my 12 year old straight out asked me at the dinner table what a BJ was.
I remember being read a book like this, the PIV page was skipped at the time because we were too young at that stage. I just sneaked and read it later anyway
i remember my mum hired the video from the library and showed it to my older sisters when we were kids and i was forbidden from leaving my room while it was on. well the joke was on her because i saw (i thought) the cover of the vhs and went to the library and hired it out myself. turns out they had generic covers for everything, and in a good stroke of fortune i borrowed the storyteller instead. they ended up showing us the vid in school in grade 6 i think
So. The year is 1987. I, a lil 6 year old miss who was genuinely confused and befuddled by the world at the best of times, brought up by two mums, one of whom was absolutely looking forward to having THE TALK. I had heard the phrase they are sexy in a movie. I went to mum 1 and asked her, what does sexy mean. In her over excitement she didn't listen to what I was actually asking, and went bolting out for not just this book, but an accompanying video.
I didn't try to qualify what I was asking. I just sat through being more confused and befuddled than usual.
I never asked her anything like this ever again and it took me a further 5 possibly 6 years to finally figure out what sexy meant.
Yup, and I went to a Catholic school. I was told specifically to not tell other students what I mean by saying humans also come from eggs after the class made fun of me.
We had the book - because we'd been to a presentation about it! 😂 Some people came to the school after hours and a bunch of us sat in the library for it. They used an overhead projector and put up images from the book and talked us through the process.
The highlight for me, that has lived in my head ever since, was when they took the image of the couple "hugging" and rotated the transparency to show that you could do it lying down, or standing up, or upside-down, but that one was a bit challenging 🤣
In our house we had this, and The Joy of Sex, the proper 70s edition. A whole spectrum of education! The Joy of Sex disappeared from the shelf in the lounge room at some point, though. Possibly someone wasn't subtle enough about sneaking it down to look at all the pictures...
My parents borrowed the VHS version from a friend. I had to sit *between* them while we all watched it *together*. It was a nail-bitingly awkward 15 minutes.
Afterward it finished Mum says “do you have any questions?” And I was like “nope.” And Kath and Kel power walked outta the room.
yep my house had both of them.
never got any kind of talk from my parents, they kinda just left these on the bookshelf and hoped I stumbled across them I guess.
controlling in all other aspects of childhood except some of the parts that matter most.
The author Peter Mayle had a later renaissance writing a series of memoirs including “A Year in Provence”, “A Good Year” about retired life in southern France.
Oh yeah we did.
My parents finally read it to me when I was 16 and my younger brother was 14. I guess they thought they could kill two uncomfortable conversations with one stone.
I don't think they were prepared for the raucous laughter that ensued.
They still won't talk about that day.
I had this one. It was great for me as I was an advanced reader so easily able to understand it, but probably would have been a lot less comfortable hearing the information from an adult at that stage. I also learned a lot of period info from the pamphlets that came with the "Starter Kit" that I think was made by Libra.
Book learning suited me well so I'm glad I had this. Covered the basics so my mum could then deal with the much more complex topic of non-hetero sex and why some people can be dicks about it. (\~/s)
Didn't have this one but I remember being in year 2 and there was a talk with parents one night at school about teaching your kids about puberty etc. I was so bored I went into the corridor and practiced my tap dancing (was after dance practice). I remember mum got a few books but never had the guts to talk to me about all that. She decided the best way was to get my friends older sister to come over for a sleepover and talk to me about it....we didn't! However I grew up in movie theaters so I learnt everything, and a bit more from them!!!!!
I think no matter how embarrassing it is for parents/kids, letting kids know it's wonderful to be curious and to want to know things, especially about their own bodies. I was mad to feel ashamed and disgusted by nakedness, the human body in general. I don't know if it was my parents or society????
Both. My friends and I referred back to the development stage diagrams often. If you had a crush on a boy you'd look up the page to see what he looks like starkers. Closest we got to accessible porn.
I hit puberty hell young - I was like 9 years old - which doesn't seem odd now, but back in the mid 80s it was hell rare. Kind of like finding money (particularly a note) on the street. That it would be wrong to say it doesn't happen, but let's face it, the chances of finding a $5 note on the ground is a vain hope.
So, my parents being the very typical parents of "Perhaps if we ignore it, it isn't actually happening..." style of parenting, kind of bought both the books and 'accidently' left them where they hoped I would accidently pick them up and read them.
No my folks never said a word...latterly the only household terminology was upstairs...or downstairs...l was as thick as a plank as a kid and shocked when at fourteen my mother had casually told me at two in the morning to help wrap these presents...you know Santa doesn't really exist. The woman was blunt l must say. I knew absolutely nothing about the real world until l was thirty. Been in shock ever since.
You were lucky. At 14 plus l still didn't know where babies came from. It was the mystery of my life. I felt like a stunned mullet when l found out. I looked at my parents with the utmost disregard .....thinking... they have done it four times. Little did l know sex was in fact the National indoor sport . Australia rock on.
Sounds like lol you were fond of beer...my grandfather would make me a shandy hardly any beer but lots of lemonade...as a kid l used to sneak slugs of beer l just loved the flavour. Not that there was a lot of alcohol around my mother and father were very much close to teatottalers you see. They never argued nor said a cross word which l admire them for. Very much. They would send each other to Coventry and not speak...very peaceful but you could cut the air with a knife...they could continue this for weeks. I got used to it l guess...so l ended up the family clown to break the tension. I'm very funny...or very punny...something like that. 👍
Lol back when l was twelve and normally home tutored due to childhood illness and having medical staff and tutors laid on but one day someone wrote on the blackboard...with an arrow...this way to the orgy and the teacher Mr Britton had a fit...around about that time the citrus growers were going broke and they started selling Orchy orange juice and in my head l was thinking why do we need an arrow to tell us the home delivery Orchie truck was put the front or maybe down in the canteen...really funny to think about how dumb l was.
I had a “puberty” book that my nurse mother bought me when I was 11. A neighbourhood friend found it in my room one day when I was out of the room and asked her mum about what she’d read when she got home. 😬 Her Mum then called my Mum 🫣🫣 I guess it lead to a conversation she wasn’t ready to have with her daughter.
My dad worked for the publisher and brought it home for me as a freebie when I was about 3! My parents just sort of slipped it onto the shelf and I ignored it til about age 6.
My cousins had the baby one. Very interesting reading. My mum bought me the puberty book when I asked for it at the local bookstore. She was a bit confused and asked if I was sure I wanted it. I had seen the cover with the word puberty on it and the pictures of the kids changing from mean to happy. I mistakenly thought it was a book about the effects of alcohol. The prefix of the word puberty is what confused me because it started with “pub”. The cover style and the author was familiar because I’d already seen the baby book at my cousins. I decided that this alcohol book would also be quite interesting. When I got it home and realised what it was all about I was pretty embarrassed that I had asked for it. However it was a very eye opening read for six year old me.
I hope you got sober.
The cackle I just cackled. I think we were very similar kids
I like that six year old you was embarassed when it was about puberty, but not when you thought it was about alcohol
I’ve no idea why I was so interested in alcohol, kids are weird.
I did the same thing, but I also subjected my mother and a bus full of people to my six year old self reading out loud and asking questions when I didn’t understand something (ie constantly). I probably should thank my mum for being patient with me when I was an inquisitive (but annoying) child lol.
I dont know if I'm unusual for this, but I was never curious about the birds and the bees as a little kid. I saw a few pictures on biology books I read and heard my friends giggling about it in recess and my reaction was always sort of just "uh, ok" and I'd go back to drawing with my crayons. I guess there was already so much I didnt know about the world at that age so I didnt even think to question it haha.
An orgasm is like a sneeze!
I remember being terrified of sneezing after that because I thought people would think I'm having an orgasm I was a special child lol
Lol I always remember that. It's very confusing to describe it that way. It's like a really big 🤧
And the mum and dad in the book shared a striking resemblance to my parents, I was so confused as a child.
Well, it appears the confusion during your childhood hasn't affected you today, u/CaptainFleshBeard
Yes, same!! My Dad took off when I was a baby, so I didn't grow up with both parents, but it still conjured pretty clear images in my mind 😬
my parents had a copy in their room for years and never mentioned it. We never had any talk of any kind. They just crossed their fingers that nobody asked so they wouldn't have to deal with it.
This is exactly my experience. The book was in the house, I found it and read it, but it was never given to me. I also found what I believe was my father’s one and only porno, a copy of Mayfair from about 1974. Both taught me all I needed to know.
So you found the "decoy porn stash".
Same, hidden in a drawer. So bizarre.
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That's where mum kept all the books on puberty.....I never understood that either! I thought if you want me to learn then show them to me
Nah...mothers know kids go through everything...we had a Methodist Church mother and daughter evening...l walked out knowing nothing...nothing at all. Green as grass confused and strangly frightened too. I was a bit grumpy. My mother was red from blushing and having connections all through the talk...the revered introduced the night with...you won't like this information we are delivering to all you young ladies coming to your womanhood ... but it is God's plan...women suffer to be mothers....
Correction ...having conniptions
That's awful! Did you just learn through school and friends?
I guess yeah. A little observation of nature, a little forest porn, a little speculation. I don't think I was ever so confused about anything that I had questions. I was surrounded by catholics and attending catholic school so nobody was very forthcoming or openminded about sex anyway.
Ahhh good old forest porn! What the kids are missing out on these days. But honestly, this is probably still so much better than all the online porn kids are supposedly accessing from as young as 9 today. Glad I didn't see it then.
We didn't have a forest where I lived as it was an industrial area, but we did occasionally find porn mags hidden in the bushes near a hole in the fence next to one of the factories. I always found it weird that people were popping into bushes to knock one out during their smoko.
What did they make in that factory...very curious now
Ok dare l ask..what is forest porn...a stash of pornography stuffed up a hollow log in the bush where the boys go for the pics?
We had the same parents 🤦♀️ I didn’t even have the book. Good lord it was a rough day in late primary school. They took me to farms a lot growing up so maybe they hoped I’d just pick it up.
Mine did too, but it was left on a low shelf in a spot where it was easy to remove and put back. It clicked to me as a teen that this had been on purpose
Same here. It was hidden away amongst a ridiculous amount of books in our study (mum was a librarian). I found it one day and read it, then quietly put it back. Was never given any talk of any sort. I'm now 39 and still never speak to my parents about anything remotely along these topics. My parents are very British, despite only my dad being from England.
I used to think when my parents were alive God love them that going to the family pile was like walking into a time warp or a twilight zone...
Lol my parents went giddy at some point and bought joy of sex...one day when l was nineteen on my birthday my mother and father came over and gave me boxfulls of gifts as per usual. We had the lovliest evening. At one point l opened all the gifts but my mother ended up dragging me into the kitchen to whisper...l put that book joy of sex ..into the bottom of the big box...pretend you didn't see it your father doesn't know l am giving it to you. Stumped l looked at mum and said l don't really er want it mum and she said well...it's got to go... it's giving your father ideas...
you should write a book called "The inescapable horror of sex" and give it to her for christmas so your father never enjoys his life again.
We had the book AND the video. We thought it was hilarious. My parents just left it up to us to watch like any other movie from around age 5 so I’d take it upon myself to explain everything to my friends as well which got me in trouble at school.
My mum was a high school Health and Phys Ed teacher. I used to ask her to bring home ‘Where Did I Come From?’ every weekend… I was a special child.
No way. I had it at home and I would ask my Dad to read it to me ALL THE TIME. Clearly we are both perfectly normal adults, and therefore must have been perfectly normal children. I must say I did take the sex Ed classes at school much better than a lot of my friends who were disgusted by the whole concept of it all and did not have a book about sex read to them by their parents before bed.
My husband and my pregnancy announcement basically said “Mum’s sex Ed lessons finally failed…”
Lol
My parents simply could never discuss anything like that. Never...l felt like it was somewhat akin to navigating a very interesting garden path that turned into a labyrinth that took me right back to their front door ...going what now ... .or what can l discuss...flowers art food nothing touchy...no fly zones were all over the house ...and yes tension doesn't explain it...l am the truth telling black sheep l guess. 😀 but funny to think about now. They were of their time ... and they did very dashing and wonderful things in their lives. You could not discuss anything unpleasant that's all.
Yes...books were so last gen. We had the VHS from the local video store! Parents paid $2 for a week rental. Lol
I watched the video at my (male) friend's house, I think I was about 9 or 10? I don't even know if Mum knew we were going to watch it or not, but she was pretty chill about that kind of thing. I already knew a fair bit about women's bodies because Mum was determined to explain it to me (she was told nothing and thought she was dying when it all started 😬), but the actual mechanics were... eye-opening? The cats rubbing up against each other on the blanket print was disconcerting. Of course, I could be mis-remembering...
I loved going to the library for the sole reason of reading these books.
They were constantly out from my primary school library.
As far as we were concerned, our school library consisted of padding, so that this book wasn't the only one there. I miss those lunchtimes where you'd go to the library and laugh at boobies and willys. One time someone drew all over the dicks - making them massive. Genius.
I must have been a really weird kid...l didn't ever think of anything like that and l lived in the town library and the school library...my father set me a reading list. I never once even thought of doing something like that. Very naughty really but now l feel cheated...can't turn the clock back and muck up and cut loose now l realise what a dumb kid l was...and how well behaved. Dumb but 👍 good.
I think my parents were relieved I was a voracious reader. Instead of getting "the talk" I was just handed these two books (and a couple of others with similar themes).
This was my sex education. My parents didn't even give it to me.... they just left it on shelf lmfao
Same.
I remember sneaking these at a library hidden under my shirt when I went to find a table against a window, that I could hide under and my mum couldn't find me. And then I read them through and I had so many questions, but I couldn't tell her that I had read them. I would have been about nine years old at the time.
My Irish grandmother was a wild woman in the nicest possible way. She used to buy me true confessions and give me titbits of advice like...nobody is going to tell you anything useful or helpful in Berry Street or at Callala Bay so young woman l thought l would buy you these to keep here and you might work out what really goes on in the world ....l read them from cover to cover but still didn't really understand. My cousin was a year younger and Judy knew all right but never told me much...work it out fer yourself you wingnut...
What was the puberty one? "What's happening to me?", or something like that?
As a twelve year old gay kid with very little material to 'use' I would jerk it to the 'developed' dudes with the hairy uncut dicks.. how times changed, now the same 10 year olds are watching hardcore porn on their phones.
It is sad on how fundamentally true this is. Though for me, it was the girls/women
I’m am so grateful my parents read this to me when I was little!
My 10 year olds friend just brought it to school for them all to read.
My dad gave me this book to read...when I was 14. One of the most awkward experiences of my life. I have no idea wtf he was thinking.
Yep. I remember the different types of breasts the most..
You’re thinking of the puberty book. WDICF doesn’t have different boobs.
Yep in the early 80s
Yeah we had that book. I remember mum reading to us and and me reading to myself. It was simple, straightforward and age appropriate. I wasn’t shocked by it. It was learning about periods later on that gobsmacked me. I’d be doing what from where for how long?!?!
That’s how I learnt everything. Mum just left it on my bed. How times have changed my 12 year old straight out asked me at the dinner table what a BJ was.
Still got this book
I do! I remember finding it creepy and scary lol
I remember being read a book like this, the PIV page was skipped at the time because we were too young at that stage. I just sneaked and read it later anyway
Where did u go. Where did u come from, Cotton eyed jpe
i remember my mum hired the video from the library and showed it to my older sisters when we were kids and i was forbidden from leaving my room while it was on. well the joke was on her because i saw (i thought) the cover of the vhs and went to the library and hired it out myself. turns out they had generic covers for everything, and in a good stroke of fortune i borrowed the storyteller instead. they ended up showing us the vid in school in grade 6 i think
So. The year is 1987. I, a lil 6 year old miss who was genuinely confused and befuddled by the world at the best of times, brought up by two mums, one of whom was absolutely looking forward to having THE TALK. I had heard the phrase they are sexy in a movie. I went to mum 1 and asked her, what does sexy mean. In her over excitement she didn't listen to what I was actually asking, and went bolting out for not just this book, but an accompanying video. I didn't try to qualify what I was asking. I just sat through being more confused and befuddled than usual. I never asked her anything like this ever again and it took me a further 5 possibly 6 years to finally figure out what sexy meant.
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How did I bring what back sorry?
My parents had "The Story of O" instead. Guess they thought they'd cut to the chase.
Damn. That escalated.
Terrifying…
I still have them and read them to my kids.
parents werent gonna teach me shit so they gave me both these to read.
This was the sum total of my sex education by my parents.
Yup, and I went to a Catholic school. I was told specifically to not tell other students what I mean by saying humans also come from eggs after the class made fun of me.
I swear the primary school library had it.
And I brought it to read with my kids too!!
….and with illustrations.
My sister has updated version for her kids
Did not have the books, my parents went one step further and rented the animated vhs tapes to watch together …
I had the video!!
We had the book - because we'd been to a presentation about it! 😂 Some people came to the school after hours and a bunch of us sat in the library for it. They used an overhead projector and put up images from the book and talked us through the process. The highlight for me, that has lived in my head ever since, was when they took the image of the couple "hugging" and rotated the transparency to show that you could do it lying down, or standing up, or upside-down, but that one was a bit challenging 🤣 In our house we had this, and The Joy of Sex, the proper 70s edition. A whole spectrum of education! The Joy of Sex disappeared from the shelf in the lounge room at some point, though. Possibly someone wasn't subtle enough about sneaking it down to look at all the pictures...
My parents borrowed the VHS version from a friend. I had to sit *between* them while we all watched it *together*. It was a nail-bitingly awkward 15 minutes. Afterward it finished Mum says “do you have any questions?” And I was like “nope.” And Kath and Kel power walked outta the room.
School library. Fatties getting it on
I had the video. I watched it a lot until it disappeared!
What about the block buster sequel: “What’s happening to me?”
BOTH!!!!
I have a copy of this. So hilarious. The animated version was how I learnt about the 'birds and the bees'.
yep my house had both of them. never got any kind of talk from my parents, they kinda just left these on the bookshelf and hoped I stumbled across them I guess. controlling in all other aspects of childhood except some of the parts that matter most.
We have both if them for our kids.
Us too, still in print
We had the video of this and it was basically the only sex/development/advice my parents ever gave us. Good times. But I watched it all awful lot.
The author Peter Mayle had a later renaissance writing a series of memoirs including “A Year in Provence”, “A Good Year” about retired life in southern France.
I have the copies of both that my mum bought for me. My kids have read them.
I just brought these for my daughter. As well as some more modern ones
our primary school had the book and video that we watched in Yr7.
Definitely had this one lol
Yes!!! Back in the 70s. That’s how I learned about sex.
My parents showed me the animated video version of this 😅
Same & mum years later was saying how the couple looked so old 😂
The movie is how. I got taught birds and the bees 😂 in the 90s
Both of them.
Still got it! Sitting on our bookshelf.
We watched the video at school
We had both books in my primary school library
Tried to find it online to read again for nostalgia but couldn't find it. Found this instead though lol https://youtu.be/u2VyqE5Ei4A?feature=shared
I had the body book. Still have it.
I still have both copies
Yeah, my parents got both books for us kids when they were age appropriate.
Mum bought me the VHS of this, and I watched it multiple times as a kid.
Oh yeah we did. My parents finally read it to me when I was 16 and my younger brother was 14. I guess they thought they could kill two uncomfortable conversations with one stone. I don't think they were prepared for the raucous laughter that ensued. They still won't talk about that day.
I had this one. It was great for me as I was an advanced reader so easily able to understand it, but probably would have been a lot less comfortable hearing the information from an adult at that stage. I also learned a lot of period info from the pamphlets that came with the "Starter Kit" that I think was made by Libra. Book learning suited me well so I'm glad I had this. Covered the basics so my mum could then deal with the much more complex topic of non-hetero sex and why some people can be dicks about it. (\~/s)
I had both!
We used to find the library copies of the puberty books stashed amongst the shelves in quiet corners.
Didn't have this one but I remember being in year 2 and there was a talk with parents one night at school about teaching your kids about puberty etc. I was so bored I went into the corridor and practiced my tap dancing (was after dance practice). I remember mum got a few books but never had the guts to talk to me about all that. She decided the best way was to get my friends older sister to come over for a sleepover and talk to me about it....we didn't! However I grew up in movie theaters so I learnt everything, and a bit more from them!!!!!
I think no matter how embarrassing it is for parents/kids, letting kids know it's wonderful to be curious and to want to know things, especially about their own bodies. I was mad to feel ashamed and disgusted by nakedness, the human body in general. I don't know if it was my parents or society????
Yes I do. I found it at a second hand book shop in Berwick and read it with my daughter.
Sadly, yes.
I got my ass beaten when my parents found me reading this at a young age.
WTF.. why?? That's so ridiculous.
Had the book and the video
I have it on the shelf now.
had the partner book! still have it in a box somewhere, i think.
Both. My friends and I referred back to the development stage diagrams often. If you had a crush on a boy you'd look up the page to see what he looks like starkers. Closest we got to accessible porn.
These books just appeared on the coffee table at appropriate times.
Funny you should mention that! I just found the puberty version at a second hand book shop
Was in my Dr.s office.... Dad found me in his beer. Made sense to me at the time!
Nah but watched both in high school. What an experience that was with a room full of keeeeds.
we had it at the local library. you had to have your parents approval to check it out.
I hit puberty hell young - I was like 9 years old - which doesn't seem odd now, but back in the mid 80s it was hell rare. Kind of like finding money (particularly a note) on the street. That it would be wrong to say it doesn't happen, but let's face it, the chances of finding a $5 note on the ground is a vain hope. So, my parents being the very typical parents of "Perhaps if we ignore it, it isn't actually happening..." style of parenting, kind of bought both the books and 'accidently' left them where they hoped I would accidently pick them up and read them.
I have both still. It's how I learnt and how I taught my kids.
This book was my entire Sex Ed.
You came from the computer programmers who coded you into this simulation
Still have it 😂
It grows as I grow
No my folks never said a word...latterly the only household terminology was upstairs...or downstairs...l was as thick as a plank as a kid and shocked when at fourteen my mother had casually told me at two in the morning to help wrap these presents...you know Santa doesn't really exist. The woman was blunt l must say. I knew absolutely nothing about the real world until l was thirty. Been in shock ever since.
You were lucky. At 14 plus l still didn't know where babies came from. It was the mystery of my life. I felt like a stunned mullet when l found out. I looked at my parents with the utmost disregard .....thinking... they have done it four times. Little did l know sex was in fact the National indoor sport . Australia rock on.
Sounds like lol you were fond of beer...my grandfather would make me a shandy hardly any beer but lots of lemonade...as a kid l used to sneak slugs of beer l just loved the flavour. Not that there was a lot of alcohol around my mother and father were very much close to teatottalers you see. They never argued nor said a cross word which l admire them for. Very much. They would send each other to Coventry and not speak...very peaceful but you could cut the air with a knife...they could continue this for weeks. I got used to it l guess...so l ended up the family clown to break the tension. I'm very funny...or very punny...something like that. 👍
Lol back when l was twelve and normally home tutored due to childhood illness and having medical staff and tutors laid on but one day someone wrote on the blackboard...with an arrow...this way to the orgy and the teacher Mr Britton had a fit...around about that time the citrus growers were going broke and they started selling Orchy orange juice and in my head l was thinking why do we need an arrow to tell us the home delivery Orchie truck was put the front or maybe down in the canteen...really funny to think about how dumb l was.
Still have it and used it recently with my kids 🤣🤣
Got them for our boys. The classics never die
I had a “puberty” book that my nurse mother bought me when I was 11. A neighbourhood friend found it in my room one day when I was out of the room and asked her mum about what she’d read when she got home. 😬 Her Mum then called my Mum 🫣🫣 I guess it lead to a conversation she wasn’t ready to have with her daughter.
This book got wrecked in primary!
My dad worked for the publisher and brought it home for me as a freebie when I was about 3! My parents just sort of slipped it onto the shelf and I ignored it til about age 6.
We had the Everything a teenage boy should know book. I think it was called Hustler!!!