Should Little Children Be Told About Sex?

[liberalpragmatist]

I'm nowhere NEAR being a parent (I'm an awkward, single male college sophomore), but I was thinking about this recently: when I do have children someday, why not let them know about sex from a young age - by which I mean, as early as 3.

I know that sounds really early. Ultimately, though, if we don't want sex to be something awkward or weird to kids, why not let kids be aware of it for as long as they can remember, rather than setting it up as some weird, awkward moment in grade school? If it's just a fact of life from that early on, why would there be anything weird about it for the kid? No making up weird excuses about where babies come from, etc.

The main downside I can think of - and it's a big one - is that other parents might not quite appreciate their kids knowing the facts of life, nor are preschool teachers going to be too comfortable with it; if my kids wind up being as inquisitive and as talkative as I was, they'll definitely mention it offhand or ask questions about it and in doing so, make the whole playground aware of it.

Thoughts? Too naive?