Thank you to all who wrote in such good questions about addressing sex and sexuality with your children. I of course will not be able to answer all your questions on air, so I am adding some answers here.

Watch the segment from TODAY Many questions are about "what is normal?" Suffice it to say that when it comes to each individual's curiosity about and interest in sex there is a huge variation in "normal". It is normal to want to know everything and think about it a lot; it is also normal to not ask questions and feel somewhat embarrassed to discuss it at all. It is easiest when your child asks questions and you answer specifically what they are asking. If done in a matter-of-fact, comfortable way you will provide the information they need and open the future up for further dialogue. If they don't ask or bring it up, then you should. By nine or ten, kids are starting puberty and their bodies change and they need the information to avoid embarrassment, shock and the feeling that something is wrong with the subject matter. Bring it up with a book or in conversation related to something going on in your lives (teachers having a baby, tampon commercial on television, a mature theme on a kids' television program).

If they resist talking about it, then ask them what the problem is. What makes them uncomfortable, what are they embarrassed about? You may be able to diffuse their shyness about it.

Many kids feel anxious about masturbation, they wonder if it's wrong (the old "if something feels this good it must be bad" thing) and for girls they may wonder how a big baby gets out of such a small vagina without "killing you". It is important to address their fears. ALL children masturbate at some point and they should know that; they should also know that it is fine and yet that it is private.

Girls need help understanding that vaginas expand and contract (try a balloon analogy) and therefore it is safe and will not damage a woman.

Really, the conversations with kids of a younger age are easier and if done comfortably will make the adolescent conversations easier. Talk to your teen about the huge responsibility that sex is. It changes you. It also carries the responsibility of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. It is emotionally huge and it involves the feelings of two people.

Talk to them about the fact that sex does not only mean intercourse. Oral sex is sex. Heavy petting is sex. They need to think it all through and therefore not get caught in the heat of the moment, unprepared for what they want and know is best for them. It is true that sometimes the media or an experience will push your hand and force you to explain some issues, either before you wanted to or even some issues you wished you never had to. But knowledge is power and you are really better off equipping your child with tools than leaving them unknowing and unprepared or, worse yet, misinformed from talking to a peer who has incorrect information.

If you find that a book is useful to you as a guide, I have written two that you may find useful. The first, Amazing You; Getting Smart About your Private Parts is for three to eight or nine year olds. The book covers all the body parts and how a baby grows in the uterus, but it does not contain anything about intercourse itself. The second book, Changing You: A Guide to Body Changes and Sexuality is for kids ages eight to ten through fourteen. It explains puberty and sexual intercourse. Both books address age-appropriate issues of not letting others touch you, sexual thoughts and masturbation. If your child won't read the book with you, give it to them to read on their own and then invite questions. Use this as a time to impart your own morals and values about sex as well. Kids may act like they don't hear you at times, but believe me, they are listening. They internalize your values, and studies show it impacts their decision-making greatly.

Please continue to write in with any problems of questions you have on this all-important topic.

Get more information on this and other topics on The Today Show on iVillage.

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