A mother has admitted that she's 'mortified' after accidentally telling her son a bit too much about her sex life.
Taking to parenting forum Mumsnet, the woman, writing under the username bestoutofthree, confessed that she was 'taken by surprise' by her 12-year-old's question, and now regrets spilling the beans.
In her post, she explained that her son had asked: 'How often do you and Dad have sex?' and, after checking that he was sure he wanted to know, she replied with: 'Once or twice a week I guess'.
At which point, her son responded: 'Oh. Now NEVER say that again,'; leaving his baffled mum to shoot back: 'You asked! And I double checked!'
Her post continued: 'I am a very modest person and never talk about sex with friends at all, but DS (dear son) has far fewer inhibitions and often mentions things I find embarrassing.'
'I would never in a million years have asked that question of my mother!'
She went on to explain that she expected 'normal what is sex' conversations but didn't expect such a personal question.
In the comments below the original post, most other parents felt she had given too much away. 'I think you should have used the opportunity to teach him about boundaries! It's an inappropriate question,' said one user.
'Maybe he's comparing with his friends over Facebook and you'll earn the most embarrassing parent award cos (because) the others won't admit they have done it since the conception of the enquirer?' another added. 'Oh - and they'll all share with their parents and you'll see lots of raised eyebrows. Also - your DS will need therapy.'
After receiving mixed opinions from the other parents, bestoutofthree said: 'Now I regret answering.. I was caught off guard.'
Many replied more sympathetically after her subsequent comment, with one writing: 'Tbh (to be honest) he asked and you felt ok in answering... It's typical that he'll feel grossed out by it. But there we go. He asked a question and got an answer.'
Another advised the mum to 'just leave it', adding: 'It's not your fault, you were caught off guard. Nobody expects a question like that out of the blue.'
One of the more light-hearted commenters, meanwhile, was impressed with the mum's answer and joked: 'I'm impressed with once or twice a week!'
What do you think? Was the mum right to answer so honestly? Let us know in the comments box below.
