Parents and teachers are often nervous about addressing the sensitive and potentially embarrassing subject of sex education. While some adults may fear that once young people know that sexual intercourse exists they will immediately rush off to try it, the evidence is to the contrary. Those countries that appear to offer the most effective sex education have the lowest teenage pregnancy rates and a higher average age for the start of sexual activity female viagra NZ. Good sex education results in young people being more considered about sexual matters and more selective in their choice and number of sexual partners. DiCenso and colleagues confirmed that if the content of this education is wholly or predominantly biological, the outcomes are poorer. Curricula that are more broadly based and include ‘sex and relationships education’ or ‘personal and social education’ are more effective. The promotion of the idea of sexual abstinence until marriage may delay sexual activity but there has been little rigorous evaluation of formal abstinence programmes.

Sex education has some fundamental purposes that few would argue with: the protection brought by the acquisition of knowledge and skills; the need to prevent confusion, unhappiness and unnecessary shame or guilt; the aim of creating confidence, self-esteem and enjoyment of one’s body; and the promotion of happy, successful and safe future relationships. However, active moral and religious debates mean that sex education content and methodology are influenced by wider factors.

There are perhaps three stages in children’s lives in which they can be said to have distinct educational needs:

  1. From the time that they start to walk and talk and through the middle childhood years, children are learning how to behave appropriately in public, including in relation to their bodies.
  2. Children who are approaching puberty need to be prepared for the changes that this brings, both emotionally and socially – indeed some cultures have specific puberty-associated rites.
  3. Those who have passed through puberty need to prepare for sexual relationships and for becoming adults.

For this reason, sex education is about much more than a one-off talk, rather it should be a continuing process which introduces new ideas at appropriate times in a child’s life. Required topics for young children include:

  • developing an understanding of the differences between male and female bodies
  • understanding and applying the rules of their society about public and private behaviours relating to what body parts are kept covered, what touching is permitted and what behaviour is allowed in different places
  • knowing the names for parts of the body, including private parts, so that they can report any problems such as pain, injury or unusual symptoms, which could indicate illness
  • learning about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ touching and about ‘good’ and ‘bad’ secrets in order to reduce the potential for sexual discount ed meds abuse.