When to give the "birds and bee's" talk to your child?

I never got a talk from my parents either except to tell me not to do anything until I was married! It was a challenge for me to decide when the time was right to talk to my children. I didn't want them to learn from their friends, and I wanted them to know that they could come to me. So, my decision has been to talk to them as they ask me questions. I have let all of my kids know that if they have any questions about anything, whether it is the birds and bees or anything else, they can ask me and I will give them an honest answer. My answers have always been straight forward and simple, and not going into any detail. Normally, if they want more information, they ask. I have found that my kids are satisfied with a simple answer and rarely want more information. My oldest, for example, who is now 13, once asked me where babies come from and I told him Mommy's tummy. He was only about 5 at the time, so that answer was all he required. When he was ten, he asked me how babies are made, and I told him that a mommy and daddy work together to make them. It was a simple, yet honest answer and it satisfied him. He has never asked for more detail yet. The closest he has come was to ask me why we go through puberty, to which my reply was so that we can grow up to become mommies and daddies. I think that the best approach is to not sit down and have a long detailed conversation, but to answer the questions as they come and let our kids know that we are open to answering them. I have found that as they want or need answers, they will come to us as long as they know that they can. The key is to give them enough information to satisfy them without going into a lot of details that will embarrass them or make us feel uncomfortable. So, if your 9 year old is asking questions, answer them simply and let him know that he can come to you if he has any more questions.