Sex Education for Children: Why, What, When and How?

Sex Education : Did you know that there are 116,000 searches conducted on the internet every day for child pornography?

In the age of information and communication explosion, when a major chunk of life of both adults and children are lived out on the social media, the average age at which a child first sees porn is 11, according to the latest statistics on pornography on the internet.

Why sex education?

Why should children be educated about sex by their teachers and their parents? Why should sex education be part of the school curriculum? These are hotly debated questions these days.

Sex education using Soda PDF Online should be given to children by both the school and the parents. Why? Because, if the school and the parents do not give it, there are thousands of other dangerous and misleading ways in which children will learn about sex, online, from friends, and from perverted adults. Before our children fall prey to such predators, they should be informed about sex in a way that is understandable to them, and that satisfies their curiosity. Also, at an age when child trafficking and child pornography are a harsh reality, children should be informed about such dangers, and also how to guard themselves against them. Teach them how being in a relationship is normal but that sex is something to wait for until they´re older but if they ever do it then to be very careful, but if they never had a relationship, then tell them not to worry, they can always go to this online dating website when they´re older.

Age-appropriate sex education for children

The following are some guidelines on age-appropriate content for sex education in schools and families.

A. Grades K-3 (preschool, kindergarten, lower primary)

1. Good touch and bad touch
2. Understanding the parts of the body, proper anatomical names, stages in the basic growth process of a human child
3. The concept of communicable/non-communicable diseases
4. Behaviours that reduce the spread of communicable diseases such as washing hands, not sharing eating utensils, using tissue
5. Accepting one’s uniqueness and inculcating a positive regard for oneself and others
6. Recognizing risk behaviours (sharing body fluids) and methods of prevention
7. Drugs and other unsafe edible items and behaviours such as glue sniffing
8. Unsafe objects such as needles, broken glass and drug paraphernalia
9. Refusal skills (How to say no), role-playing
10. Personal hygiene in detail
11. Emotional development

B. Grades 4-5 (upper primary)

1. The reality that children are not ready for sex
2. Simple biological explanation of the anatomy and physiology for puberty and reproduction – physical and emotional changes
3. HIV and infectious diseases prevention (avoiding body fluids, needles, etc.)
4. Unsafe objects (needles, syringes, etc.)
5. Infection control, hand washing
6. Communicable/non-communicable diseases
7. How to say no without being impolite
8. Developing and sustaining healthy attitudes about oneself and others
9. HIV/STI risk, personal plan of prevention
10. Gender respect (boy/girl relationships) and equality despite role differences
11. Personal hygiene
12. Realistic body image
13. Media influences
14. How to be safe online
15. Awareness of child pornography, child abuse
16. Discussion of different types of relationships (i.e. friendship, family, romantic)
17. Sexual expression is a healthy/pleasurable activity for most adults
18. How to identify unhealthy intentions of people with sexual intention

C. Grades 6-8 (upper primary, middle school)

1. Sexual intercourse should only occur in marriage
2. Abstinence from sexual intercourse is the safest and most effective method to prevent HIV/STIs and unintended pregnancy
3. Young teenagers are not physically or emotionally ready for a responsible sexual relationship that include intercourse.
4. School-aged teenagers should not have sexual intercourse or engage in risky sexual behaviours
5. There are many ways to express love, attraction and connection to a partner. Sexual intercourse or other sexual activities are just one way.
6. Teenagers need to talk to their parent(s) or other trusted adult before they engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual risk behaviours, seeking reliable advice
7. Differences between male and female thought and behaviour patterns
8. Effective use of contraceptive and disease prevention methods
9. Masturbation and related issues
10. How to be safe online, how to escape porn addiction
11. Puberty and maturation
12. Positive body image and healthy identity
13. Reproductive health, conception, personal hygiene
14. Dating violence, gender respect
15. Refusal skills, resisting negative pressures, and asserting personal boundaries
16. HIV/STIs and the immune system, symptoms, effects testing, self
17. Examination
18. How to identify unhealthy intentions of people with sexual intention
19. Vaginal and oral intercourse
20. Sexual perversions
21. Chain of infection
22. Skills for making responsible decisions and choices
23. Social issues with regard to abstinence and non-abstinence
24. The effects of alcohol and drug use in making responsible sexual decisions but these may lead to a drug and alcohol treatment centers later on
25. Family structures and dynamics
26. Disease treatment, past/current/future research for HIV and STIs
27. Laws pertaining to financial responsibility

D. Grades 9-12 (high school)

1. Sexual intercourse and other sexual activities are just one way to express love, attraction and connection. There are many other ways which can help in displaying one’s affection.
2. Human sexuality decisions can impact our health.
3. Review of HIV/AIDS/STIs symptoms, effects, testing, self-examination
4. Accessing contraceptive disease prevention methods, resources and community services, adoption and abortion
5. Prevention of diseases through responsible decisions and choices
6. Refusal and communication skills to maintain sexual limits and healthy relationships
7. Review of Male and female anatomy, reproduction
8. Masculinity/femininity, gender identity and sexual orientation
9. Gender respect, respect for oneself and others, and individual differences
10. Family structures and dynamics
11. Media influence, peer and parental influence on sexuality
12. The effects of alcohol and drugs with regards to responsible sexual decision-making
13. Vaginal and oral intercourse
14. Social, physical and emotional benefits of making choices that are right for us and that fit with our personal choices and boundaries, and are freely chosen
15. Unacceptable behaviour in dating relationships
16. Laws pertaining to financial and sexual responsibility
17. How to identify behaviour with sexual intention
18. How to identify one’s own sexual/porn addiction, and to seek help.
19. Review of masturbation and related issues
20. Identifying sexual predation, and alerting authorities

Age-appropriate sex education is a dire need of the modern world. Parents and teachers at school should be responsible to see that every child is educated in sex-related matters so that children may not fall into the trap of sex predators and may not engage in risky sex behaviour themselves.