Her name is Captain Flamers. She is a cowgirl and she was sick for a long time, but he took good care of her until she was better. She and he like to ride horses together.
"Do you kiss?" I ask him.
"Sometimes. We hold hands, too, because that is what married people do."
And thus continues the ongoing sex education conversation in my household.
Yes, it is important to keep the talk about sex age-appropriate and ongoing, but for most parents that is really hard. It sounds like help might be on the way.
Planned Parenthood used information from a study published in the Journal of School Health to develop a Get Real sex-education program focused on middle school children. And early results indicate that the program is successful. The curriculum pairs in-school lessons with take-home assignments designed to start conversations between students and their parents. But in addition to talking about sex, the program also talks about relationships in a healthy way.
And that might be part of the program's success - to not just give children information about sex, but to give them the contextual information about healthy relationships - information that may combat what they see on television or in the movies.
What's the sex education program in your child's school like? Is it designed to involve parents? Tell me about it in the comments.
My child isn't in school yet, so I'm not sure how much the sex-ed program has changed since when I was in school. However, I remember the classwork being very dry and fact-based, mostly focusing on diseases and pregnancy. There wasn't any take-home work that I can recall. However, from a very early age my mother talked with us about relationships, love, and sex whenever the subjects would come up (in an age-appropriate manner, of course). She would explain a scene in a movie, for example, and how it might be different in the real world. She was always there to answer any questions and offer input when we'd talk about things we'd seen or heard. I believe that is the key. Open communication. I give that all the credit for the choices I made in that regard, and am very proud of the choices I have made.
ReplyDeleteHi, Brandyn. I think you owe your mom a phone call - she definitely handled the topic with you gracefully!
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