SEX education should start at home. With the media being very generous in exhibiting and using sex to boost product sales and patronage, parents should step in and intercept before any dangerous impression begins to form in their children’s young and vulnerable minds.
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THE time when parents start to dread how sex can affect their children is when they (children) reach the age of puberty. When faced with this fear, there are only two things/choices parents can resort to: either they face and accept the reality and devise or find means to enlighten and guide their kids on sexuality, or they close their eyes and follow the trend of hipocrisy by shutting the door to open discussions in the family about topics on sex.
The second choice is obviously the easier and the one more commonly picked. Parents avoid talking about it with their children - perhaps, not until the time a daughter comes home pregnant, or a son brings home his girlfriend heavy with a child.
It is understandable that bringing out this delicate matter in family rooms leads to uncomfortable and awkward situations. However it all depends on the treatment of the subject and the objectivity by which it is presented in order to erase the ‘taboo’ factor that often alienates it from free discussion. Once the family members are more at ease in sharing views about it, the benefits come in great measures.
But before parents can bring sex education to the family forum, it is very important that they first establish good relations with their children during their childhood. You cannot just pull your youngsters in one corner and start lecturing if there is no real bond between you and them. It would be difficult to make them listen to and accept your word if you don’t have strong connection with them. And instead of leaving a positive mark, your kids may even have hidden resentment because they may take your move as a sort of ‘intrusion’ to their private selves.
Sex education in the family does not really need to be a ’sit in’ lecture. It can be introduced candidly and casually - depending on the situation and condition at hand. For instance, while watching TV together in the living room, parents can subtly comment on sex content of certain commercials or shows. And there are a lot on TV! Advertisements on condoms, sexual rejuvenation from vitamins, government campaigns on family planning and sexual health… not to mention sexual connotations in many product ads - most of which are liberally shown during prime time slots, the usual viewing time for children. Much as we want to protect our children from these media elements, there is no hundred percent assurance that we can veer them away from these all the time. We can control the situation at home, but once they step out of the door, we can barely, if at all, manage the stimuli that may therein surround them.
It is not an easy task to educate one’s own child about sex. Notably, schools have now integrated sex education in health and values education subjects. And although the schools sometimes tend to be too academic, still, it is worthy to note that they help open the door to this area.