Sexual education and an understanding of the body’s reproductive system is essential to understand at all stages of life in way that is most relevant and relatable to the appropriate age group. For an age group containing children 8 to 10 years, the important elements to focus on are the ones that center on informing the children of their body parts and the changes they will undergo in the upcoming years, introducing the male and female interaction necessary to create a child, emphasizing abstinence until an appropriate age, and taking care of any stigmas, questions, or misconceptions of puberty and sex that the children may have. Children at this age are beginning to develop certain levels of independence and therefore, it is crucial to teach them the process of this sexual education course. By guiding them through the information in a way that is supportive, versus authoritative, the children may feel more comfortable with learning and accepting the subject. The most important thing that should be covered when developing a sexual education program for children who are 8 to 10 years old is the anatomy of their sexual organs and explaining the changes their bodies will be undergoing within the next few years. Children in this age group are thought to be in a developmental stage where their social interactions are increasing in complexity, so it may be wise to separate the children into male and female groups when covering the anatomy of their sexual organs and the changes
Human sexuality can be fascinating, complex, contradictory, and sometimes frustrating. Sexuality is interwoven into every aspect of being human; therefore, having knowledge about sex is as essential as having education about human anatomy. However, it is highly recommended to pay close attention when sex education is delivered to youths. (Donatelle 171)
Sex education should be implemented at an early age beginning at the middle school level. A discussion of contraception, the risks of diseases, the risk of becoming an unwed teen parent and the disadvantages of not having an education will help decrease the number of teen pregnancies with future generations. Parents should not feel threatened of having their children learning about sex in class. Parents should feel empowered; it will allow their children opportunities to feel they are able to discuss future topics of sex at home to help promote
Sexual education is an important topic which as to be addressed due to the growing debates as to weather it should be implemented within the school system. The Canadian Guidelines for Sexual Health Education states that sexual education curriculums addresses a range of topics including “puberty, effective contraceptive methods, prevention of STI/HIV, communication skills, sexual orientation, interpersonal relationships, and media literacy” (Public Health Agency of Canada). Children need to address such issues early in order to protect them from early initiation of sexual activity, sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy. The issue is then weather or not parents support such a program.
Sexuality is an intrinsic part of being a human being. Hence, it follows that as we grow sexual development is normal and for most a point of curiosity. In an age where even a curious five year old could ask the internet where babies come from instead of asking their parents, it is becoming increasingly evident sexual education is a necessity for the sexual health of America’s youth. Sexual education is an important class that should be integrated into the public school system in order to prevent the problems of teen pregnancy and STDs such as HIV. The CDC reports that in 2015 about 230,000 babies were born to teen girls aged 15-19 and that nearly half of the 20 million new STD cases reported in 2015 were among young adults between the ages
When the subject of sexual intercourse gets brought up, it can be an awkward situation for not only children, but adults as well. However, it is important that adolescents learn about how they were delivered into the world. Sexual activities can be a dangerous thing if the juvenile does not know what is happening or the ways to prevent them from happening. Many adolescents have been seduced into doing sexual actions without even knowing how it happened because they are uneducated. Safe sex courses should be taught to a minimum level of eighth graders instead of an abstinence class to inform students of the dangers and preventions of dangers sexual acts can cause.
Sex education, most commonly known as family life, is any information about sex and sexual relationships taught to maturing young people as a part of a school’s curriculum. Currently, there is a constant political and ideological debate in the United States over the merits of abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education programs in the teaching of our youth. Abstinence only sex education has been the primary sex education taught in the United States. Although different in their approach, the overall goal is to help them build a foundation to be able to make healthy informed decisions as they mature into adults. The objectives of sex education programs are to help adolescents develop a positive view of sexuality, body image and make responsible decisions in relationships (Knowles, 2012). Ultimately, any sex education should be a partnership between parents, guardians and school personnel. However, in recent years, a large amount of information about sexuality is acquired through friends, music, books and the media instead of from their parents. For some individuals,
What if a rapist was coming at someone? Do kids know what to do besides lie on the ground and cry? What if a teenager had an unplanned pregnancy? Do they know their options about abortion or adoption or keeping the baby? Will young adults know the results of their choices? Sexual education teaches all of the following, and kids in the curriculum are more likely to defend themselves in a plot when they were approached by a stranger (“Teaching children in schools…”). Sexual education teaches students about sexual health, abstinence, and information such as contraception, condoms, unplanned pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases (“Sex Education Programs”). Comprehensive sexual
Healthy sexual development begins at birth. It is a holistic process that involves the emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physical experiences. The physical development aspect has played a pivotal role in sex education discussion. As such, the discussion of sex education in this forum will focus on the emotional, cognitive and behavioural sexual development and the responsibility parents and teachers have in educating themselves to assist adolescents through this development.
Each curriculum has a varying view on how sex education should be taught and when sex education should be taught to adolescents. Comprehensive sexuality education is the most effective type of sex education and followes the guidelines of starting sex education in kindergarten until twelfth grade. A broad range of topics are taught to students depending on their grade in order to help them develop vital skills and an understanding the varying topics. Abstinence-based sex education gives adolescence a broad range of knowledge on varying topics related to disease prevention and contraception with the emphasises that the best choice is to abstain from sex. Abstinence-only education promotes that abstaining from sex is the only way and does not address contraception or disease prevention. Abstinence-only-until-marriage sex education teaches adolescents that marriage is the only time sexual activities can take place and that in order to prevent disease and teen pregnancy refraining from sex until marriage is the only choice (SIECUS, 2001).
The development of children is an inevitable aspect that needs sufficient preparation if there is to be the chance of seeing it through. As such, there is the need to establish frameworks that could be used in the capacity of an effective enlightening on the natural changes that they are bound to undergo in the course of their developmental stages (Kelly & Kapperman 519). At the forefront of the considerations that need to be held in high regards and impart into the children is the education about sex. More often than not, there is the common trend of some school curricula to exclude this imperative aspect of the learning process. The immediate impact that comes into the fold is the perpetual development of the children without the proper knowledge
These types of programs use a holistic approach to provide young people with complete, accurate, and age-appropriate sex education that helps them reduce their risk of unintended pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections and diseases. Comprehensive sex education programs are focused around providing medically accurate information on a board variety of topics related to sexuality including human development, relationships, decision making, abstinence, contraception, and disease prevention. These programs provide students with opportunities for developing skills as well as learning about all aspects of sex. Comprehensive sexual educational programs assist young adults with the tools to make informed decisions and build healthy relations. Also, they stress the value of abstinence without shaming sexual interactions and preparing young adults for when they do eventually become sexually active. Furthermore, these programs provide youth with accurate information about the health benefits and side effects of all contraceptives, including condoms, as a means to prevent unwanted pregnancies and reduce the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections and diseases. These programs also encourage communication about sexuality between parent and child. In addition, comprehensive sexual education programs teach young adults the
As children grow, they accumulate knowledge over the years about a variety of subjects to prepare them for the future. Children learn from parents, schools, life experiences, what they watch and other influences around them, and it can be either positive learning or negative learning. There is one subject that is difficult to teach and have control over because of misunderstandings, lack of teaching, and publicity. Sex education has been a major debate for children under eighteen, because there are some parents that want it taught in schools and others that do not because of different reasons. There are currently eighteen states and the District of Columbia that require schools to provide sex education and thirty-two that do not require
Before moving on, one must know that sex education is about, but not limited to the discussion of sexual intercourse. As a Buzzle article states, it involves a multitude of topics that introduce human sexual behaviors such as puberty, sexual health, sexual reproduction, sexuality, and more (Iyer). If formally received in school, these topics are brought up and discussed at age-appropriate times over the course of children’s junior high and high school education. Moreover, as I have
How can sexual education programs be improved to further improve the health of a country?
Controversy is rampant regarding the sexual education of grade school children. Some insist that it is prudent to educate children on this subject beginning as early as kindergarten. Others strongly disagree that earlier education has any effect at all on teen sex and pregnancy and, therefore, abstinence should be the focus. Lastly, we have those who believe advocating abstinence is appropriate, but agree that a more in depth sexual education is also necessary for those who are going to have sex anyway despite our best efforts to teach them otherwise.