............ At school???
I had a quick look to see if this topic had been covered before and there is 284 pages to look through possibly linked...so i thought i would post it anyway.
My daughter is aged 10 and has 1 more year to do in junior school. Yesterday the class were issued with letters asking for permission to be taught about this with the rest off the class.
I agreed and think that all children should be taught this during primary school in hope that it cuts down the risk of teenage pregnancys or other things.
There was only 1 little girl who wasn't allowed to.
What do you think....?
Why do children need to know about sex before they are 11 .. seems a totally un-necessary deal to me. Information they don't need yet. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I believe in the age of innocence and am sad its virtually lost these days. I didn't even know about periods till I was 10 and a half and that was only cause one girl started hers in class and was so upset the teachers had a major problem on their hands as all sorts of rumours went round the class about it.
I got the sex education from my parents shortly after I started my periods at 11 and was fine. I knew exactly what I was doing and the consequences when I first had sex.
I don't think I was either surpressed or promiscuous .. just a normal teenager. I was a happy child and safe enough in my ignorance. When I did learn about sex I was ready for it.
I feel there is too much emphasis on sex these days.
DD
Trouble is, 10 year olds are not as innocent as we'd like to think. They are curious and easily affected by image, and by far the most common image kids see these days are sexy ones.
Pop stars are far more sexual than the were even when I was drooling over Siouxsie and giggling at Sid Vicious swearing.
Sex is everywhere and kids are not blind, stupid or so far behind the door that they don't know that naughty is appealing. But they are far too young to deal with the emotional mess that having sex too early can bring. (I'm getting to the age where I think 'too early' means under 21...)
There are 13 year olds getting pregnant. They need to know how to protect themselves. They need to learn it's OK to say no, but they do, unfortunately, need to be aware of dieases and risks if they don't say no. I think sex education is vital at that age, but I do agree it's a crying shame that it is.
That is really depressing to hear but it does higlight why these children need to be well informed.
My daughter started asking questions very early on and when she was six she asked me about sex - what was it? how were babies made? etc. I decided to tell her in the most appropriate way for a youngster explaining about a ladies egg is fertilised by a mans sperm and they then make a baby grow inside the mummy's tummy - just to check she was alright with that - I asked her if she understood...........
"well yes mum, I knew about the sex thing just didn't know about the fertiliser"!!
kids - don't you just love them!
My mother was a late-starter at 17 and she didn't have a clue. She knew a little about sex from friends etc but nothing about menstruation or the fact that they were linked. Subsequently, when she found out she was pregnant with me at the age of 25, the doctor had to explain how it happened.
That's coming from a 3rd child of 6 in a catholic family growing up in the 50's and 60's.
When I was 6. she sat me down with a book called the circle of life which pretty much explained everything from prehistoric man to present time, different cultures and traditions but also periods, sex,. babies, personal development and love. I used that book as a reference over the years.
My daughter is 8 and her school have already done some sex ed which I agreed with and am happy about - personal development, proper names for body parts, periods, hair - that type of thing.
I promised I would answer her questions as she asked them. So far, we've discussed the need for tampons and The Pill,hairy bits and boobs .... obviously, we're an all-female household so the male questions haven't arisen yet.
I wish her dad would have felt comfortable being naked around her when she was very young as it's now too late and no matter what I say, she's still all giggly over boys and bits.
we have a Miriam Stoppard book illustrated with cartoon people but still anatomically (?????) accurate and very informative in a way that's not too intimidating. I intend to bring that out in the next year or so if she hasn't asked any more questions.
I agree with most of the above posts. Sex ed should definitely be taught in schools - certainly no later than the final year - but that should not be the only place. It's down to the family to support and guide kids.
I think early sex education is essential. It doesnt have to go into the nitty gritty of things, however they do need to know the basics!
I started my periods early at 9, and we had had no sex education, not even the lesson about periods or puberty. Luckily for me my parents were forward thinkers and i had lots of home education on sex and relationships so i didnt think i was bleeding to death when it happend!
My daughter is 3 and has already been asking questions. She has a 1 year old brother, her childminder is pregnant and we currently have a litter of kittens, so being the astute girl she is she wants to know how they got in there. I bought a very very simple book which explains the basics and have used this along with my own common sense to try and teach her. We dont hide nakedness from her and answer her questions openly and honestly.
She starts pre-school in september and already we have had a letter asking us to give permission for sex and relationship lessons. This i think is only a good thing, they wont be getting sordid or giving out lots of information at this stage, but to begin learning about relationships and their own bodies is a good thing imho.
mrs v
I really do not know the best time to start sex education, and I can not remember what age I was when the letters went home to my parents.
What I do know is I learnt about sex in the farm yard. When the teacher put all his diagrams up he just managed to label the parts and say don't rush in to anything. Oh, and sex should be part of a caring relationship.
I think he was glad to be able to get back to cutting up worms in the next lesson. When there was no embarrassing questions.
I agree with the majority here (sorry DD disagree with your view on protecting innocence, it's sadly doing the opposite) that it should be discussed early on in schools. Certainly from infant school with the basis on relationships and babies then more detail at junior level. Agree totally with FB that it should be done at home too, not relying on school to do the "dirty" work as sadly many parents do shy away from the responsibility.
Also agreeing with Velvet that we need to show our children about love, respect, affection alongside the physiology of sex and anatomy.
Blimey agreeing with everyone today! Also Marya, I too had a book called "Where did I come from?" (still in print now) that I was given as a small girl and read it cover to cover and always went back to it at any age.
The dutch have very early and very explicit teaching in schools (I was partly shocked and I am very pro early sex ed) but the average age of children losing their virginity is something like 18. They are empowered, know their facts without embarrassment all taught with in a family framework. Case in point IMHO.
pink x
We have four daughters. From a very early age I have tried to instill self respect in them.
Self respect comes first- you can know all about the mechanics but you should feel able, and confident enough to say when you want to do it.
Well ithink children should know all about babies and where they come from in language and detail appropriate for their age.
For too long we have worked with ignorance described as innocence and can see the consequence of kids learning first from each other.
Its a parental responsibility to create a constructive framework of family life that allows discussion and learning of the issues involved.
That is not going to happen in school - would I trust teachers in what amounts to formal teaching to do anything other than perhaps describe the biology and some main pointers regarding health and social consequences? Having said that I am aware that some parents are not going to or are not capable of giving the right information and perhaps we need someone like a GP (but not a GP) to give that advice if parents couldn't? But definitely not a teacher.
never mind sex education at an early age, when do we get the letters telling us they want to teach them to read & write & do math without the aid of a computer, or is that just wishful thinking,.
ops: :oops: maybe this would of been easier if i hadnt started so early so i totally agree kids should be taught early my sons 8 and have explained a little to him
You know, writing them down on paper using a writing implement. They are taught how to use the spelling and grammar checking tools, but as part of the ICT curriculum.
