Blush - the game

Helping Parents with their Children’s Sex Education

For years I have written about data analysis to identify and assess risk; to detect and prevent fraud; and to improve business processes (efficiency and effectiveness). At the risk of my professional credibility, please allow me to talk, just this once, about something more personal that affects every parent and every child: “The Talk” about sex.

If you are like me, a father of two girls, I was more than happy to let my wife give them ‘the talk’ about sex. But in many ways, I think I failed them by not being present and giving my perspective. The problem was, I didn’t know what to say; and my girls were too embarrassed to ask me questions.  They even had difficulty talking to their mother.  Years later, my oldest daughter developed a ‘trivia card’ game called Blush to help parents have ‘the talk’ with their children. This is the subject of my post.

Children are exposed to more social issues – sexting, cyber bullying, sexual orientation, etc – and much earlier than you or I. Many parents don’t know or understand today’s sexual environment. So how can they talk to their children? On top of that, the children may not be able to formulate the questions they have; and for which they need answers. The solution: Blush.

Blush is a ‘trivia card’ game about topics such as reproduction, biology, protection, doctor’s visits, gender identity, consent, and many more. It uses a ‘game setting’ where the players do not have to know the questions or the answers. Blush use randomly selected cards to present the questions (and answers); and encourages and supports open and frank discussion between all participants. 

Blush can be played at home (parents and children); in schools (children and teachers); or wherever and by whomever.

Having “the talk” with your kids has never been easier. Gone are the ineffectual approaches - “birds and the bees” or “What do you want to know?” - to helping children understand sex and sexual health. These have been replaced by an entertaining discussion where players chose a random card with the questions and answers. Blush aims to give teens and tweens the opportunity to talk about subjects they may be too embarrassed to bring up otherwise. More than informative, Blush is first and foremost a game designed to make discussions happen. The questions are simple, factual, and free of judgement and opinions. It includes website references that can be used for more in-depth discussions.

Blush was even featured on a CBC Radio ‘live’ broadcast on ‘All in the Day’ and was 'played' with college students (https://www.cbc.ca/allinaday/2016/04/01/new-quiz-game-aims-to-reduce-the-awkwardness-of-the-talk/).   Every parent’s nightmare: I was asked questions about how my ‘talk’ went with my daughter. Most college students failed to answer even half of the questions correctly.

I hope that, whether you are a grandparent, parent, or young professional, you can see Blush as relevant to your personal life. I promise to get back to discussing data analytics in my next article (something I know more about), but if you want to know more about this fabulous resource: https://renaissancebookpress.com/boardgames/blush/