New booklets have been launched which aim to help parents to talk to their young children about relationships and sexuality.

The booklets were developed by the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) for children aged between four and nine years. According to SHCPP lead, Helen Deely, they aim to help parents to talk to younger children in a ‘gradual, age-appropriate way'.

"We are keenly aware that parents are the primary educators of their children and have a crucial role to play in supporting their child's development. This resource has been developed in response to research with parents of young children, which finds that they want additional support to help them to have more open conversations with their children about relationships, sexuality and growing up from a young age," she explained.

Dr Catherine Conlon of Trinity College Dublin, who led the research, noted that while different parents have different ways of speaking to their children about sexuality and relationships, they ‘generally considered this to be a difficult or tricky topic and one that did not come easy to them'.

"This is mostly due to the culture that prevailed when they themselves had grown up. Parents overwhelmingly want to be able to have open and honest conversations with their own children. However they report lacking confidence in doing this.

"They want to have the skills to be an effective and reassuring source of information for their children, but many feel unprepared to do this and requested support in this area," she explained.

One of the booklets is a parents' guide, called Talking to Your Young Child about Relationships, Sexuality and Growing Up. The other is a story booklet which you can read to your child called Tom's Power Flower, a gentle explanation of how babies are made.

Both can be ordered from www.healthpromotion.ie or they can be viewed here