At what age should children's sex education begin? When is the critical period for children's sex education?

Children's sex education is really a very important thing. In the traditional Chinese ideology, sex is something that cannot be discussed. In fact, if children are not properly educated about sex, it will have a greater impact on their future growth. At what age should children's sex education begin? When is the critical period for children's sex education? The following is revealed for parents

How to provide sex education abroad

Dutch children and parents discuss sex at the dinner table

The open sexual attitude of the Dutch has impressed the world, but the Netherlands has the lowest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe. In the Netherlands, like other courses, children start receiving sex education when they enter primary school at the age of 6, and they even discuss this topic with their parents at the dinner table. Dutch education experts believe that early sex education for teenagers and even children can help teenagers know how to protect themselves and prevent them from doing things that they will regret for the rest of their lives due to momentary sexual impulses or ignorance of sex.

Malaysian 4-year-olds also need to learn about sex

A proposal on national sex education jointly drafted by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, the Ministry of Education, non-governmental organizations and educators was recently submitted to the Malaysian Cabinet and approved. Sex education will become one of the subjects in schools within two years, allowing children as young as 4 years old to learn about sex. Students will learn about human development, gender relations, marriage and family, communication skills and safe sex in sex education. In Malaysia, parents will take the initiative to talk about some sex knowledge. There is a lot of sex knowledge in junior high school textbooks, including contraception and conception. For primary school students, some picture booklets are used to promote knowledge such as how to protect their bodies.

Singapore launches multimedia sex education materials

The Family Planning Association of Singapore has developed a series of sex education programs for young people, focusing on strict control of sexual behavior and sexual age. By 1999, more than 9,000 citizens had received sex education courses, which produced good results. In 2004, the Ministry of Education of Singapore developed a systematic sex education program and designed a set of multimedia sex education materials "Growing Years Series" for lower grade middle school students. Subsequently, three "Growing Years Series" materials were launched, which are suitable for upper grade primary school, upper grade middle school and above middle school students.

Japanese sexual knowledge is taught from elementary school to high school

The cover of the first elementary school textbook "Health" published by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan has pictures of the female and male bodies and sexual organs. Elementary schools have 1-2 hours of special lectures every year, covering the differences between the bodies of men and women, the principles of menstruation and pregnancy, etc. Junior high schools also have 1-2 hours of special lectures every year, calling on students not to engage in risky sexual behavior, and students can also learn about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases; high schools have sex education courses in physical health and family life classes, covering contraception, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases and ethics. Every junior and senior high school in Japan has a "Assistant Association" composed of experts and scholars, responsible for providing students with various sex counseling and sex education, and compiling sex education guidance manuals. Although parents will also tell their children some relevant knowledge, Japanese students mainly obtain sex knowledge from school.

At what age should children's sex education begin

At what age is it appropriate to start sex education for young children?

This cannot be generalized. It should be considered according to the child's development, family environment, place of residence, religious background, etc. Generally speaking, it can be considered from two aspects: one is when the body is basically developed, and the other is when the brain is fully developed. In the past, sex education tended to be the former, that is, sex education began when the child entered puberty and showed secondary sexual characteristics; I tend to be the latter, and I think it is better to start when the child's brain is relatively well developed.

From birth to adolescence, the development of a child's brain can be roughly divided into three stages: 0 to 3 years old, 3 to 7 or 8 years old, and 7 or 8 to 10 or 11 years old. Experts call these three brain development stages the imitation period (0 to 3 years old), the creative period (3 to 7 or 8 years old), and the sentiment period (7 or 8 to 10 or 11 years old). The so-called imitation period is when the baby unconditionally accepts the behavior and feelings of the people around him (mainly family members) and promotes the development of his brain through imitation. The so-called creative period is also called the first rebellious period. During this period, children insist on themselves and want to do things by themselves. Even if they can't do it, they will try to do it by themselves and refuse the help of people around them. This is evidence that the brain begins to think, choose, create, and mature independently, so it is called the creative period. In fact, children around 3 years old have a strong desire for knowledge and will ask questions continuously. Among those many questions, there are also questions about the origin of their own lives, such as where do children come from? Who created me? Therefore, I think it is extremely natural to start sex education appropriately during this period.

Rules of sex education for children

1. Allow children to be curious about sex

Children aged 1 or 2 like to play with their genitals, especially boys. Parents don't need to make a fuss or scold them with prejudice.

2. Let education take its course

For young children, whether they are touching their ears, sucking their toes, or playing with their sexual organs, it is all motivated by curiosity. We should help children learn the names of various body parts and make them understand that each organ is an indispensable part of themselves.

3. Correctly answer children’s questions about sex

Children will also be curious about sex, so we should take it as a good opportunity to educate them about sex. The correct approach should be not to ask or talk about it actively, but to answer questions without lying, and to answer briefly and truthfully according to the child's understanding ability.