The "With That In Mind" Podcast · Red Bird Mental Health Services

Episode 32: With That In Mind | Sex Education with Cindy Loftus-Vergari Part 4

·1 hr 19 min·5 clips

A school message to eighth-grade girls was: “if your choice is to be raped or die, you should die.”

Megan introduces Cindy Loftus-Fergari, her co-host and mother. Together they keep the conversation focused on talking to children about sex, with a plain goal: helping parents share enough information to keep kids safe without pretending there is a perfect script for every family or every moment. The tone stays gentle. Cindy keeps coming back to the idea that parents can listen first, give the information they have, and return later if the first answer felt incomplete, clumsy, or out of step with what they know now. That flexibility matters. Rather than treating a wrong turn as a failure, the discussion frames it as part of a living relationship, where a parent can say they made a mistake, ask for a do-over, and let the child see that adults are still learning too. The episode also pushes back on waiting. If children have never been given basic information, they may not know what to ask, which means the first real explanation often comes from the back seat or from somebody else instead of from home. That lands clearly. Cindy uses her own family to make the subject less abstract, saying that three children later, the real measure is whether each child felt able to make choices that were safe and protected, however far or not far they wanted to go with partners. The show keeps returning to safety. That safety is described in practical, embodied language rather than abstract policy language, and the conversation treats sexuality as something parents help children navigate with care, timing, and honesty. There is room for humility. The hosts acknowledge that conversations from the 1990s would sound different today, and they treat that shift as growth rather than embarrassment, which makes the episode feel more usable than corrective. It is not a polished lecture. The exchange wanders a bit, repeats itself, and settles back into the same central lesson several times, but that loose shape fits the subject, because families rarely discuss sex in neat, finished paragraphs. It stays human. Megan and Cindy keep the focus on what happens when a parent is willing to learn, listen, apologize, and revisit the topic instead of assuming one conversation will do all the work. The closing thanks listeners and points them toward more training and past episodes, but the larger takeaway is simple: sex education works best as an ongoing relationship, not a single talk.

As heard by us

A calm, practical discussion of sex education, safety, and how to revisit hard conversations.

This episode treats sex education for kids as a steady, ordinary part of parenting rather than a crisis or a lecture. Dr. Megan Velozorzi and Cindy Loftus-Fergari keep the advice grounded in basics: give children enough information to stay safe, pay attention to the question…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

A steadier way to talk to kids about sex when you do not have all the answers.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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