Sex Education-When To Begin and How to Go About It

By Nivedita Saini

Permit sex education to penetrate from here by teaching your children the proper names for their sex organs, may be during a bath and gradually keep adding more material in accordance with their age till they understands the subject well. In other words, teaching your children about sex should begin as soon as you start communicating with them.

By the age of three, children often comprehend the fact that boys and girls have dissimilar genitals. Explain to them that, that is how it is meant to be and that God has created boys and girls differently.

Many children express their biological sexual curiosity through self-stimulation. Teach your children that it is normal but also tell them about the significance of privacy. Also teach them that no one is allowed to touch their private parts without their consent.

The dreaded question about babies can be answered by making use of everyday opportunities. For example if your child’s best friend’s mother is pregnant, explain that it is because she's going to have a baby and she's carrying it inside her.

When the next question, about how the baby got in there props up, offer accurate, but, age appropriate information. An answer like “through eating” may satisfy a three year old but a grown up child may want a more specific explanation. So whether you talk about sexual intercourse, getting pregnant or safe sex, always be open and use the correct terminology.

Sex education is not just about the aspect of sexual intercourse. Sexually maturing bodies, menstruation, nocturnal emissions are very much a part of sexual education. In fact something as normal as cracking of the male voice during puberty is also a part of sex education.

Some tips to be kept in mind all along the path of imparting sex education are:

• As parents explore your attitude.
• Start early.
• Take the initiative.
• Anticipate the next stage of development.
• Communicate your values.
• Talk with your child of the opposite sex.
• Learn to relax while discussing about the subject.

Most children go through life with distorted thoughts about sex purely because their parents were too embarrassed to talk about it. Such children are left to congregate information, little by little from friends, books and the media and the deductions they draw need not necessarily be correct. So parents, forge ahead and set the stage for honest discussions.