When did you first learn about sex?

I consider myself lucky. When I was three my mom had just become pregnant with my little sister. Of course what toddler isn’t going to want to know what’s growing in mommy’s tummy and exactly how it got there? So I asked – and she answered, whipping out her vintage copy of "Our Bodies Ourselves " and all. Over the years, we kept having versions of this conversation, whether it was asking what a term I’d heard on TV meant (the "blow job" conversation was a classic) or asking about birth control options. That doesn’t mean I always felt comfortable telling my mom everything, but it did mean that I a) knew the facts and b) knew where to go to get answers if I needed them from somewhere other than mom.

So when I saw this video of Planned Parenthood’s Haydee Morales and her daughter talking about sex it made my heart warm. Haydee is the Vice President of Education at Planned Parenthood of New York City, and Haydee’s daughter is 11. Their conversation is touching, and proof that yes, a parent can have a good, open conversation about sex with their kids. And sometimes it’s that conversation that makes a world of difference.

So what about you all? Could you talk to your parents about sex? Are they the ones who told you the facts, or did you find out from friends/peers/older siblings? And how much of what you thought you "knew" ended up being myths?