Sex Education for 4 year olds?

In the news today is the somewhat controversial call from two prominent sexual health charities, Brook and the Family Planning Association, for sex education to be made compulsory for children as young as four.

Their argument is that by teaching children about sex from a very young age we can lower the numbers of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies when they reach their teens.

This is not to say that they are suggesting children in reception classes learn about abortions and Chlamydia! The charities would like children to learn the names of parts of the body and about relationships and sex.

There are several good points in favour of this:

  • · If sex education continues at its current hit and miss standard then yet another generation will be denied the knowledge and life skills that they need to form healthy relationships stay sexually healthy.

  • · There is evidence to show that if we can get good quality, appropriate sex and relationships education into every classroom, then the numbers of teenage pregnancies will drop and we will see an improvement in the sexual health of our children as they grow into adults.

  • · If children learn about sex and sexuality at a young age they grow up feeling less embarrassed about talking about it and are less likely to experiment in dangerous ways before they are mature enough.

National authority on sex education, the Sex Education Forum has backed this argument up somewhat by lobbying for PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic Education), which also includes relationships and sex, to be made mandatory. Currently parents have the right to remove their children from these lessons.

Personally, I would like the Witchlings to grow up feeling comfortable asking me what ever questions they may have and I am proud that I have taken the lead in these discussions from time to time since Witchling 10 was about 4 years old. Little children don’t need teaching how to have sex. But they do need to learn about respecting their own and other people’s bodies. If the Witchlings are armed from an early age with the basics they will be far better equipped to understand and deal with the more complicated stuff that life will throw at them later on.