I think it all depends on the child. If my mom had waited to talk to me about reproduction until I was 12, I would have been in a lot of trouble, since I "bloomed" at barely 10. I wouldn't have had a clue about what was happening or why. My mom did try to explain thing to me before that (I don't remember how old I was, but I know it was before that). However, she kept to VERY medical terminology, so I really didn't understand, even though I thought I did so I didn't ask questions. It wasn't until things started happening that I realized I really didn't know what she meant. BUT... since she had already talked to me about it, the door was open for more dialogue. Had she not have talked to me at all at that point, I would likely have gone to the school nurse, horrified and confused.
Every child is different and needs the "talk" when the parent feels they are ready. The child could be any age. I believe that girls and boys need to know about puberty and the changes that their bodies are going to go through, but sex is not a change that is going to happen to them right away. Sex is somethign they will experience when they are older. I am all for teaching them about their bodies and how their bodies work, but until they are at least 12 I don't think they need to know fully about sex. I dont' know if I am coming across the way I mean to or not. I am super tired and had a long night so my brain is quite fuzzy right now.
I realized I am still equating the old "sex ed" with the new "sex ed." When I was a kid, sex ed was about changes, etc. So when a parent says no sex ed until twelve, I think they mean the whole ball of wax. That was my mistake.
I agree that sex ed has changed, the definition I mean. I agree, teach them about body changes early so they don't get scared about what happens to them, and speaking in medical terms until the time is right for the individual child to learn more in a more adult conversation. Main line, it's not the goernment's job to teach our kids about this when their clearly not ready, and the subject material is so skewed and awkward. P.S. did you catch at the end of that article where the reporter asks how they will pass a thing like this, and the pro-change spokeswoman said, "Health...Health." Government is calling it, "Health" not sex ed.
It's kind of always been that way, though. I mean, when I was in school our sex ed (even actual sex ed in high school) took place during health class, taught by health teachers.
In reading though this thread I just kept thinking about what these children will do with the information they learn about s*x at school. When I was a kid I only had the dictionary and encyclopedia to enlighten me, these children have the ability to youtube or google the words and watch what it means. That sends shivers down my spine. Tonight I am especially thankful for the freedom to homeschool my child.
That is a horrifying thought. Most kids today don't even have to wait until they find a computer to google stuff. They just use their phone or ipod touch. Why do people wonder how porn got to be such a problem?
I think it is shameful that the world is so messed up with pornography and mixed messages that the PS system is put in any position to feel they need to 'inform' kids of anything beyond the basics. And I feel it will rob so many kids of their innocence and create a world worse then the one they have already. When you hear kids say oral sex is no different then shaking someones hand then obviously the intended message of 'sex ed' has been misconstrued. And what more would you expect from a child because that is who they are teaching children. They aren't emotionally or physically prepared to deal with all the ramifications of early sex. Sad. I am glad too that my kids will be raised in a happy bubble from this. I censor tv, radio and whatever other medium I deem inappropriate as is my job as a parent to raise them in a society filled with filth. But then I am terribly old fashioned. I will answer questions as they are asked or give information freely as our bodies aren't anything to be ashamed of God gave them and sex to people for a reason. And in that context my children will learn, I hope and pray to treat themselves and others with respect. And God willing when they are old enough to make sexual decisions for themselves that they will make them informed and find a partner who also shares a decent respect for the gift God gave us to love each other. So often all this talk of sex is so debased that it oft forgets the feelings and emotions that are connected with it. Very sad indeed.
