Sex education for 5 year olds

[Mushroom]

There has been articles in the papers today about this image in a book:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/03/ ... 38x610.jpg

It even got onto 'This Morning'. So who thinks this is wrong to be teaching sex education for 5 year olds. In my opinion, it is far too young, they don't know too much about the world, and they shouldn't be thinking about sex at this age.

What do you think, should it be taught to 5 year olds?

 

[Snoo]

No.

 

[STC]

Teaching people of any age about safe sex and avoiding easily-avoidable diseases is a good thing.

Although the information will obviously be of no use to 5 year olds, it introduces them very early on to the idea that sex is nothing taboo, or to be ashamed of, but a normal part of every day life that they feel comfortable talking about.

But I imagine my reasonable point will be lost as this thread is about to turn into the Daily Mail comments section. :roll:

 

[Mike]

it introduces them very early on to the idea that sex is nothing taboo

No, it's introducing them to the concept of sex, when they're FIVE!

5 year olds should be taught how to dress themselves, cut along a line with scissors and be playing with toy cars, NOT be taught the concept of sex and relationships!

:roll:

 

[Nemesis Inferno]

No, it's introducing them to the concept of sex, when they're FIVE!

5 year olds should be taught how to dress themselves, cut along a line with scissors and be playing with toy cars, NOT be taught the concept of sex and relationships!

:roll:

Nail on head...

Doing it from YEAR 5 however, should be the aim... And doing it with some actual substance every school year onwards till abour 6th form...

Having some old woman come in a put a condom on a banana and show us some cheesey 70s film isn't THAT substantial, or even worth me paying any attention...

 

[kimahri]

No, too old. I like my kiddies fresher.

In all honesty they're only going to go "eeeeew cooties" giggle the completly discard it.

 

[kimahri]

Low signal. Sry bros.

 

[BetaKitten]

This is the Daily Mail were referencing right?

The whole aim of this 'sex' education from 5 years is to build up a general knowlege gradually.... rather than bombard a load of giggly teenagers with highly unhelpful and poorly thought out videos on the matter...

They are only going to be exploring different types of emotional relationships (from what i gather)* around this age.... so i don't know why everyone is so repulsed.
I think it can only be a good idea that a rounded view of the world is slowly introduced instead of the sort of sex education i (and most other people) had...





(*gather from other sources about this than the daily mail.)

 

[furie]

We've never shied away from home "sex education". If the kids ask a question that's a bit "embarrassing" then we are open and answer it. Kids are naturally inquisitive and want to understand what the world is about. Hiding kids from sexuality until they're in secondary education is wrong. By that time they are physically becoming sexually alert and onset puberty is a worrying and troublesome time. Without prior education, you lead to inhibitions over sex and a need to cover it up and hide it as something dirty.

I'd rather teenagers felt comfortable talking about sex and sexual attitudes and being aware of the risks in plenty of time of them hitting an age of sexual activity. Minor_furie and his friends (male and female) all openly discuss sex around me and madame_furie. That doesn't mean they're sexually active, just that they are aware it happens and are relaxed about it. Hopefully that also means that they will be more careful when the time comes. Being relaxed will mean that they're more likely to take precautions because they'll discuss it with each other and have a good awareness of sexual health.

Is five too young for explicit details? There's not a five your old out there who isn't very intimately acquainted with their own genitals. Why not answer what they're for and why girls are different.

Obviously the Daily Mail has over egged this, and it's not actually "Sex Education for five year olds". The books are approved for 7+, it's just the publishers say suitable for 5+.

I remember being highly embarrassed telling my parents I'd learnt about the facts of life (they never did it, so I had to pick it up from the playground chatter from primary school age and it was all pretty confusing to be honest).

They gave me a "Christian" sanctioned book about sex. It was very helpful and told me about how you only have sex after marriage. You only have sex to produce children and not for pleasure. "You may feel like you want to have sex with another man, or to be like a woman, but these thoughts are wrong and against God's wishes". It was a male specific book and I actually remember the line very clearly. I'd never even considered those possibilities at the time and my first introduction to homosexuality or transgenderism was "IT'S WRONG AND YOU'LL BURN IN HELL!!!" (almost).

I'd have much rather been introduced at an early age in a simple and unbiased way by parents who loved me and were open and available for me to discuss these things.

On to the book that's causing the major problems. we've read the Daily Mail and Christian knee jerk reaction to it, let's read some reviews on Amazon by... you know? Actual parents?

This book explains genes, conception, pregnancy and birth in a sensitive yet light-hearted manner. The cartoons and illustrations, which abound on every page, make it a really fun book to read, grabbing the attention of young children. Everything your child is likely to ask you about the facts of life is covered this book. A really excellent find which has helped me enormously with my kids.

My nearly 7 year old was asking philosophical and biological questions about why she was born, why is she not someone else and why is she in her body and not in another. I remember having these questions myself and feeling the enormity and excitement of it all. SO... Straight on to Amazon and got some fab books that I have shared with her and her 4 year old sister. This book particularly hit a chord with my younger daughter so I see it as a book that you could have in the house to tackle the area of reproduction from an early age.

I thought my 7 year old was ready for this book as she has an enquiring mind and I also felt that SHE was ready for the information. I would advise reading it yourself first so that you can be prepared for the bit about the "special cuddle" which needed a bit of discussion time and promoted the response "Dad, did that to you!" Once you've explained that bit... the rest is a doddle!... The book explains very well and I thought that the pictures where easy to understand and follow. We really enjoyed it. Will re-visit it again in a little while. Friends have commented that they thought that she was too young for this information, the book gives it the issues an accurate framework using the correct terminology and we found it fun too! Great book for starters and the price is excellent

Really helpful aid to talk about "the facts" with children in a way that they understand.

I bought this book for my 7 year old son who had been given some rather alarming stories at school about what sex was all about. I was concerned about it being too babish but the other books were a little too advanced for him. He read the book with his dad, and only one page focuses on what sex really is and refer to it more as a special cuddle. The rest is all very matter of fact and he related to it very well as I am heavily pregnant. The book cured the inquistive questions but explained things very well. I would recommend this to anyone who doesn't want to dig too deep into the subject but wants to give a basic explanation to those difficult questions!

All the reviews are pretty much the same - the book is good for explaining to a curious 7 year old.

Sex Ed does not "sexualise" children. The music industry, TV and PARENTS are more to blame for it that sex education. Sex Ed should be the truth behind the short skirts and make-up. It's not pretty, it's not glamorous, it's biology. I know it's getting a bit into A-Kid territory, but I agree on this level. Under 10's get more exposure to sexual imagery on TV and in music than they ever do education to understand why Hannah Montana makes little Bobby feel a bit funny like he needs a wee.

On a slightly different tangent, if we are open about sex education and "what happens", it is much easier to combat sexual abuse. Is sex is seen as an open thing and a child understands it's an "adult" thing, then they are much more difficult to hush up. There's no more "it's a secret thing", because if a child understands, it's no secret and they can tell their parents/teachers without fear or embarrassment. Knowledge is power.

Oh, and believe me, sex is not as interesting to a five year old a Pokemon. A sex talk can last 30 seconds and then be forgotten about for months as "digested" information... Pokemon though? That's a conversation worth having for a 5 year old

Edit - :lol: What Lucy said only she said it better.

 

[BetaKitten]

^ lol Furie.... Topic over

Totally agree... Dylan is 7 now and they do ask a lot of questions... But the interest in the matter once discussed is pretty much zero...

I wouldn't ever go for a 'stork' story if a child of mine asked me where babies come from...

 

[Patrick]

No way. I personally don't think that any sex education should be taught in schools anyway.

 

[furie]

No way. I personally don't think that any sex education should be taught in schools anyway.

It should definitely be taught in the back alley ways behind school, preferably with a half bottle of vodka and unwanted pregnancy. Even better, you can start doing it in this country as young as ten and it costs the school system nothing.

It's an all round, excellent solution to the problem and a very well thought out well argued case put forward there Patrick; thanks

 

[Ollie]

As they cuddled your dad's penis moved gently inside your mum's vagina and the sperms flowed out

LOL.
In my school we didn't have sex education till we were in Year 6 and then it went more in depth in secondary school.

 

[Hixee]

No, it's introducing them to the concept of sex, when they're FIVE!

5 year olds should be taught how to dress themselves, cut along a line with scissors and be playing with toy cars, NOT be taught the concept of sex and relationships!

:roll:

Nail on head...

Quoted for truth.

 

[furie]

No, it's introducing them to the concept of sex, when they're FIVE!

5 year olds should be taught how to dress themselves, cut along a line with scissors and be playing with toy cars, NOT be taught the concept of sex and relationships!

:roll:

Nail on head...

Quoted for truth.

Yes, but it's something they're interested in. They ask the questions.

"Where do babies come from and why do I have a willy and girls not" does not deserve the response, "You need to learn to put on socks, and here's a toy car! When you've finished doing that, I have some cutting out to do. Does that explain it?" :roll:

 

[Hixee]

^I'm not saying don't tell them if they ask, definitely, I'm a firm believer in discovery etc. I think there is the risk to expose concepts (and the like) that aren't really that pressing for 5 year olds.

I agree with you furie, I just like the way Mike worded it.

 

[tks]

I remember being about 7/8 and i had a friend over at my house for a french lesson, and we went to the bathroom together. We couldn't understand why she didn't have a willy.

I think about that age is a good place to start with the differences between men and women.

 

[kimahri]

My oppinion has kinda changed a bit after reading furie's post. I do agree with what he had to say. What I said originally still stands but I'm starting to think telling them at that age isn't really such a bad thing, more along the lines of a little wasted effort than anything else but it could also be a catalsyt for more curiosity bringing in the lack of awkward in talking about it.

Hell when I had that cyst on my testical (epididymus if you want to be pedantic) telling my dad and hearing him ask about it was just filled with awkward. Even worse I have more questions.. Fukarnauts.

 

[LiveForTheLaunch]

I think people are misunderstanding that this sex education for five year olds thing is like, an explicit description of sex and stuff. How I see it is that they're not going into explicit detail, just getting the kiddies acquainted with their wee wees and pee pees . And like someone else said, it teaches them that sex isn't a subject to be embarrassed about. My mom never sat down and taught me and my sister the facts of life really, but she never hid it from me either. If a sex scene came on television she wouldn't care, and with my sister she plays with my sister's toys sometimes to I guess introduce her to the concept (like the mouse and the other mouse love each other and have babies, haha). I never got the talk but I feel like if maybe I did, I would have been more comfortable talking to my mom about sex when that time came. Now we're totally comfortable with it but back then I wasn't.

Sex-ed started in grade five for our school and it wasn't really about sex. It was just talking about the "parts" and stuff, never really got into much detail. Sex-ed in high school was a crock of crap, we put condoms on bananas and learned about STD's.. Really helpful..

If the school board smartened up and taught sex-ed right instead of only talking about the negatives of it half the time, then it shouldn't matter what age kids are introduced to it as long as the material is appropriate for that age group (like don't tell five year olds that men shove their penis in the woman's vagina, because I think that would scar them for life ha).

 

[furie]

I do feel I need to clear up some points (not for arguments or anything, just so everyone is fully aware of the facts).

1. This is not about introducing explicit sex-ed for 5 year olds; despite the title of the article.

2. The sex-ed they're talking about has been approved by councils for 7+.

3. This is not a compulsory lesson, but one that schools can use if they feel it would be beneficial. While some sex-ed IS required, it's not necessarily these books and these plans. It can be as simple as "the difference between girls and boys" and is up to the schools individually.

4. The books they are talking about are classed by the publisher as suitable for 5 year olds. Like all books, you read them as a parent and decide if they're suitable for your child (who at five will be able to read it, but struggle to comprehend themselves.

5. The books in question have been available on general sale for over 10 years in some cases. This isn't something new in any way.

Hopefully that explains the article a little better, which was somewhat "you're children will be gonig to school to watch porn and be pregnant by the time they're six"...