I Hated Having “The Talk” in the Car When I was a Teen

You see, the thing was my mom always wanted to have “a talk” with me while we were in the car. As a mom myself now, I can sympathize with why she did it that way. But that doesn’t negate the fact that I always felt uncomfortable because I couldn’t stop it nor could I leave once she decided it was time for a talk.

I’ve become my kids’ personal taxi-driver between the hours of 3pm and 6pm, just like my mom was for me. Not much has changed since the 90s when it comes to the daily grind of primary school kids. Between school, after-school activities, and homework there’s not a lot of parent-child quality time together - so taking a moment at a red-light to initiate a sex talk seems doable for many parents.

But I refuse to use the car to have a talk because it conjures up uncomfortable feelings for me. Instead here are my Top 5 places for having the talks with my kids.

1️⃣ Cooking Time 🧑‍🍳 🥗

My kids enjoy helping me cook. Now, I could make dinner much faster without their “help” - I want to nurture this time for the teen years. While prepping the food, we rarely make eye contact and there’s always something that needs to be tended to so the talk has a lot of starts and stops. Which means there’s lots of off ramps for me or my kid if we want to exit the conversation!

It’s been a really nice and easy way to have some talks as well as develop life skills!

2️⃣ Puberty Topics in a Jar 🫙

This activity blew open the doors for my 8 year-old to start feeling more comfortable to ask me questions. The time commitment was about 2 to 3 minutes for 30 days! It was so easy and fun that she asks me all the time if I’ve created a new set of questions yet! I’m thinking I might need to as the middle school age is right around the corner.

Learn more at Puberty Topics in a Jar!

3️⃣ 7 Minute Walks 🚶‍♀️

I had read something ages ago about how beneficial it is for your body to power walk for 7 minutes. It seemed like such a low-lift thing I could make into a daily habit. Most of the time I’ll take a 7 minute walk by myself while my kids are at basketball practice but on the weekends it’s usually after dinner and it’s always the same route.

My youngest hates it most of the time so she stays back with Dad and assists in kitchen clean-up while my eldest joins me. (My husband will take advantage of the 1 on 1 time to have a talk with her if needed!) It’s been a nice way for both of us to catch up with just one kid and I can easily prep the information beforehand so I feel confident delivering the talk.

4️⃣ Bedtime Question Book Date 📒🧋

I have a book for bedtime questions and if you’re unsure what this is all about - check out the reel ⬇️ I made to introduce it to folks on IG. Whenever there’s a few questions in the book - we usually go get ice cream or a bubble tea and go through the questions together. This gives me time to research the questions and be ready with an age-appropriate answer. It’s a parenting hack that I wish I had developed ages ago!

thekathleenhema

View more on Instagram

5️⃣ Shopping 🛒

I do the grocery shopping and my eldest loves to go with me. We’ve had some nice chats while in the shops. Some of the memorable talks we’ve had were about period products, pregnancy tests, and what’s the purpose of make-up!

Let me just say that this is what works for me and my kids! 

Most parents follow me because they want scripts for answering their kid’s sex questions in a medically-accurate and age-appropriate way. If you’ve been having talks in the car and it’s been going great - then keep doing it! If you want to try out one of these new places to have the talks, then go for it! Find what works for you and give your kid the information they need in order to keep themselves safe and healthy!

Top Talks is getting Updated with your Feedback!

Heads Up to all the parents enrolled in Top Talks: Unlimited Access, you’ll be getting an email from me early next month as it’s time to update Top Talks based on your feedback!

• What new talks do you want included?

• Did your kid ask you question that you still weren’t sure how to answer? I wanna know!!

• Is there a specific lesson that you want to see explained more in-depth?

It’s my goal to keep Top Talks relevant and working for you! I automatically update all statistics (if there is new data) as well as anything that may seem dated. Since I’m currently using Top Talks with my own kids, I already have a few new things that I’ll be updating inside the Online Safety Talk and the Sex Talk. Next month is your chance to tell me what’s been working well for you and what could be tailored a bit more for a better fit!

Here’s the Top Talks Timeline for 2025’s Update

• Early October: Feedback form gets emailed out to all parents enrolled in Top Talks: Unlimited Access

• Late October: Deadline for feedback

• November: Feedback compiled and assessed based on popularity and relevancy.

• December: New lessons are drafted

• January 2026: Top Talks is re-released with all new updates with a price increase.

You will still have access to all the lessons and digital downloads inside Top Talks while the update is happening. You will receive all the updates in January 2026 at no additional cost since you are already enrolled.

So if you’ve been thinking about getting better prepared to answer your kid’s questions, now is great time to join Top Talks: Unlimited Access. 

www.kathleenhema.com

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