Are parents doing their bit for child sex education?

WHILE IT is true that the task of grooming your child fully in all spheres of academic life to make a strong stand in the future professional battlefront is utterly irreplaceable, you cannot ignore the fact that child education entails more than just the usual lessons in science, arts, and commerce. As children move each step ahead towards the advancing stages of their lives, it becomes crucial for parents to pull up their socks and put their parenting skills to test.

Creating awareness about the relevant and prevalent subjects among children is highly important, and these subjects usually revolve around factors like religion, culture, and society. Unfortunately, even as parents have comfortably managed to succeed in educating their children about the usual lessons in their academic and social spheres, one vital subject has been seen to take a real beating owing to various social factors. Sex education in India has always raised eyebrows, mostly of astonishment and resentment, since the subject matter itself is considered too much of a taboo to be discussed openly, more so between parents and children.

Looking at the scenario, it would seem as if there has hardly been any attempt to educate children on sex, and that the importance of the three-letter word would never seep into the growing minds after all. However, it is not at all so. The new millennium has witnessed a great deal of sex awareness among children, which makes it evident that they have really come of age. And you can’t blame them either, can you? The adolescent and teenage years play havoc on the delicate minds of the youngsters, who stand at the mercy of sporadic hormonal changes. The influence may further be incited through a hip-gyrating Bollywood item song, a sleazy music video, a swimsuit calendar or even a B-grade flick. This awareness, therefore, is not enough and needs to be checked properly, to be led towards a positive track. This can be achieved comfortably through some contributory steps:

The first and the most important method of spreading positive sex awareness among children is the implementation of sex education programmes throughout schools, colleges and institutions in various parts of the country. In fact, some educational boards and councils have proposed sex education at school levels for the creation of a much learned and matured breed. Although earlier attempts have faced considerable opposition from conservative parents and other fundamentalists, the boards and councils need to strive on for a more universal approach of the programmes.

Another vital contribution towards the cause should come from the parents’ corner. Parents, as teachers, can make a great impact on the enlightenment of their children regarding the subject of sex, since there can be no better teachers than parents themselves. A well-coordinated and mature relationship between parents and children can successfully bridge gaps for effective communication.

It has been observed that many children look up to their parents as role models. While girls prefer confiding in their mothers, boys step up to their fathers for advice. So, the next time your son or daughter comes over to you to put their curiosity regarding sex to rest or for advice on a relative issue, don’t shrug off the matter. Accept the fact that your child is growing up and that no one can offer better guidance than you on the delicate subject. Understand well enough that parents and children relationship can take a real blow if there is miscommunication or no communication at all between the two. When it comes to handling the crucial task of enlightening teenagers about sex and its implications on their daily lives, there can’t be anything better than parents educating their children in the most mature manner possible

Manab J. Kharkatary

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Posted by Health Care , Published at 7:57 AM and have 0 comments