I can't believe that it is almost 3 years ago since I first started this thread!
Kids grow up much too quickly! I find myself now facing "the talk" with my youngest which got me thinking about this old thread.
The talk went quite well with my oldest back almost 3 years ago. Mrs. Buckiprof found a neat book (don't remember the title hopefully she does) that had illustrations somewhere between cartoonish and medical bookish. While we read each page, saw the different anatomical parts, (I still remember us both laughing at epididymis, specifically the pronunciation part), and the build up which was done quite naturally, he noticed at the top of each page an equation that simply read Sperm + Egg = Baby. Anticipating what was coming on the next page (already read about sperm and egg on prior pages), I asked if he had any idea about the equation and how the sperm and egg joined. His response was one that I guess parents never forget... a nervous, yet excited wide-eyed, "No". We turned the page, talked and I went a little bit in detail.
Personally, not having this type of talk with my parents, what I finally realized is that there isn't, or shouldn't be, a single "The Talk". It is really a series of talks. I had talked to him at a young age about inappropriate touching, then later the basic differences between boys and girls, etc. So I viewed this as just another talk in a series. Believe me, 3 years ago he wasn't ready to hear about masturbation, STD's, oral sex, condoms, etc., it wouldn't have been the right time...he wasn't ready for all of that detail. Now he is ready to continue the series of talks just as my youngest gets ready to hear about sperm + egg = baby.
So for those who had indicated that they would be going through this in the future, has it happened yet? If not, I personally would view it as a talk in a series of talks, not as the talk.