My daughter, Kira, often speaks about her boyfriend, the 12-year-old son of a close friend of mine. Since my daughter is not yet 5 years old, this is adorable, and of course, there is no need to tell her that my friend’s son has an actual girlfriend who is in the sixth grade.

Since my daughter is so infatuated with this boy, the details of his life are just a tad more interesting to me than the lives of many other children of my friends. So it was interesting to hear last week from his mother that he had broken up with his girlfriend.

“He said he’s ready to make-out and that this girl is too prim and proper,” my friend told me. “He told me that he’s horny, and he wants a slutty girlfriend who is willing to put-out.”

I guess he’s pretty darn comfortable talking to his mom, because I sure don’t remember confiding such personal details to my parents at that age — or any age, for that matter.

Are children less inhibited around their parents these days? In this city where every other person has done their dues on the analyst’s couch, are we raising children who think it’s normal to share the intimate details of their lives with everyone around them? Will our children ever understand the concept of “T.M.I.” — Too Much Information?

“It’s pretty family-dependent,” a pediatrician on the Upper West Side said. “Some families are so open these days that there are no uncomfortable subjects, and there are some children who still keep everything to themselves.”

“But if you’ve got a kid who’s telling you all sorts of information, enjoy it while it lasts,” she added.

Young children have always been notorious for their inability to filter what they say. “My boys insist on showing everyone around them their bowel movements,” a mother of 9- and 6-year-old sons said. “They refuse to flush the toilet until the other has seen the finished product.”

“My daughters are 5 and 8 and obsessed with having breasts,” a father told me, turning a deep shade of crimson. “They steal my wife’s bras and stuff their shirts. We’re modest, reserved people, and here our girls are prancing around the apartment doing a porn show,” he said.

Young children, already rather candid, do seem a bit more unrestrained these days. But lately I’ve been hearing more and more stories about older children — even the famously guarded adolescents — who think it’s quite normal to share their inner thoughts and feelings and bodies with their parents.

“My son is 14 years old and he still walks around without clothes on,” a mother of three said. “We wanted our home to be relaxed, and I guess I’m glad he’s so uninhibited. But his voice and his whole body are changing and sometimes I want to yell, ‘Go put some clothes on.'”

Another mother of three said that her son is always reminding her how differently her own children and their friends relate to their parents compared to how she and her peers related to theirs. “My 12-year-old son asked me how to masturbate. He specifically asked if I could show him,” she said. “He also told me that he has no intention of going to college as a virgin. Do I really need to know this stuff?”

A psychologist on the Upper East Side says that the increase in candidness has its pluses and minuses. “Parents today know they shouldn’t be their children’s friends,” she said, “but they are pretty concerned with staying young and sounding cool and being able to relate to their children. Very few children I see are scared of their parents, or feel worried about how their parents are going to react when something bad happens. This isn’t ideal.”

“But,” she added, “it is great that children feel they can talk to their parents and ask questions. Parents always have better information than peers,” she said.

As for my daughter’s boyfriend, I guess he’s just sowing his oats until he’s ready to marry Kira.

“He tells me frequently how horny he is,” his mother said, “and that he wants to have sex but that I don’t have to worry about it because he hasn’t even hit puberty. What am I supposed to say to that?”

I don’t know what she’s supposed to say, but I know that I’m relieved that Kira is 4, and not 14.

sarasberman@aol.com