{"id":33153,"date":"2012-06-07T21:25:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-08T02:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=33153"},"modified":"2021-03-11T21:29:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-12T03:29:19","slug":"do-i-tell-my-children-the-truth-that-their-dad-and-i-had-sex-before-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-tell-my-children-the-truth-that-their-dad-and-i-had-sex-before-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I tell my children the truth, that their dad and I had sex before marriage?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<h2>Question:<\/h2>\n<p>My husband and I are both Christians.\u00a0 However, we had sex before marriage (only with each other).\u00a0 I have been wondering what to tell my daughters if they ask me if we had sex before marriage.\u00a0 I am afraid if I tell them the truth, then they will think &#8220;well, mama and daddy did it&#8221;, and it may be easier for them to make that decision.\u00a0\u00a0 I have a friend who waited till marriage.\u00a0 Her mom always told her that she and her dad had waited until marriage.\u00a0 However, after my friend was married, her mother told her the truth.\u00a0 She was mad at her mom for not telling her, but she said she probably would have had sex, too, if her mom had been truthful.\u00a0\u00a0 So, should I do what my friend&#8217;s mom did?\u00a0 Any advice?<\/p>\n\t<h2>Answer:<\/h2>\n<p>First, you are worried about a situation that is not likely to come up. Children are not normally sexual beings, so they won&#8217;t think about asking technical questions like whether you had sex before marriage or not. Even when children enter adolescence, few want to think about the obvious fact that mom and dad have sex. Unless you or someone else brings up that particular subject, it is highly unlikely that your children will ask on their own.<\/p>\n<p>As you raise them, simply emphasize that sex is to take place after marriage. Give the reasons why not waiting can cause problems. If the question does come up, be honest: &#8220;Dad and I weren&#8217;t very smart when we were young. We foolishly thought we knew better than our parents. We came to regret the fact that we broke God&#8217;s law and took dangerous risks.&#8221; In other words, you always keep it in the context of what is right and wrong. You never lie and you never make sin look like it is acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>Your situation isn&#8217;t unique. There are parents who tried smoking, alcohol, drugs, or sex who fortunately learned they were wrong and changed. I&#8217;ve known many who have broken the chain for generations making the same mistakes by not passing the acceptance of sin on to their children.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question: My husband and I are both Christians.\u00a0 However, we had sex before marriage (only with each other).\u00a0 I have been wondering what to tell my daughters if they ask me if we had sex before marriage.\u00a0 I am afraid if I tell them the truth, then they will think &#8220;well, mama and daddy did&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20,1028],"tags":[665,1572,29,107],"class_list":["post-33153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","category-parenting","tag-child-rearing","tag-fornication","tag-parenting","tag-raising-children"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14974,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-husband-was-previously-involved-in-a-marriage-scam-is-my-marriage-legitimate\/","url_meta":{"origin":33153,"position":0},"title":"My husband was previously involved in a marriage scam. Is my marriage legitimate?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you for reading and responding. I have found your articles and answers to be very helpful and I\u2019m happy a platform as such exists.\u00a0 I met my husband the same day he filed for divorce and things between us moved fast. We were married in less than a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":17140,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-girlfriend-isnt-a-christian-and-i-dont-know-what-to-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":33153,"position":1},"title":"My girlfriend isn&#8217;t a Christian and I don&#8217;t know what to do","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have been dating my girlfriend for almost two months. We have now run into some problems with each other. I will admit that she is not a Christian. I wanted to try and bring her to Christ. Her parents are divorced and her mom has a man living\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":26656,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-i-divorce-my-wife-can-i-get-remarried\/","url_meta":{"origin":33153,"position":2},"title":"If I divorce my wife, can I get remarried?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Please help me.\u00a0 I came across your web site and your Bible-based answers to many questions seemed right on point with the Word of God.\u00a0 I have asked many pastors about my situation and gotten many different answers.\u00a0 My situation is complex but I will try to get to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40389,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-told-my-wife-i-had-inappropriate-conversations-with-a-woman-but-i-didnt-mention-i-had-sex-with-her-my-wife-thinks-im-lying-must-i-tell-her-everything\/","url_meta":{"origin":33153,"position":3},"title":"I told my wife I had inappropriate conversations with a woman, but I didn&#8217;t mention I had sex with her. My wife thinks I&#8217;m lying. Must I tell her everything?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I've confessed to my wife for having inappropriate conversations with a woman in church five years ago.\u00a0 Now what I haven't told her is that I had a sexual relationship with her.\u00a0 She has asked if I kissed or had sex with her and I chose not to answer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36998,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-i-have-sex-with-a-woman-who-is-willing-and-cannot-get-pregnant\/","url_meta":{"origin":33153,"position":4},"title":"Can I have sex with a woman who is willing and cannot get pregnant?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I got married to an unfaithful woman. I guess having it her way counts as unfaithfulness? My dad and others where we were living did not want us together as she: Had 16 boyfriends before me Did not pay her rent or telephone bills Had a lot of medical\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20229,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/since-i-had-sex-with-my-girlfriend-does-this-mean-i-am-married-to-her\/","url_meta":{"origin":33153,"position":5},"title":"Since I had sex with my girlfriend, does this mean I am married to her?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 21, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello brother. Thank you for the good web site and for the questions and answers that you have posted. I have a question and a problem that I want you to help me to solve. I have been dating a girl for three years. She has been really close\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}