Do you want to know the right age to start teaching your kids sex education?
My parents didn’t teach me anything about sex and my body. I figured everything out myself.
Plus the ones I learnt from school and peers. It is very wrong for kids to learn about sex and their bodies outside the home.
Yes, some schools do teach that but it is not so effective compared to the ones parents teach.
This is because kids are closer to their parents and bond more with them.
Many parents are shying away from teaching their kids about sex and the changes that occur in their body.
So what age is the best to educate your kids about sex? It is best to start teaching them about sex when they start talking.
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By this time they can identify parts of their body. Show them their penis/vagina. Tell them their function in their body.
In this article, I am going to share with you the right age and how to teach your kids sex education.
How To teach Your Kids About Sex And Their Sexual Organ
1. Wait till they start talking: This is to enable them to say anything you’re teaching them.
For example; you can show a boy his penis and tell him the name. Ask him to repeat after you.
2. Don’t be shy: You are an adult so be bold and confident when teaching your kids about their sexual organ and sex generally.
Kids are smart, if they notice that you’re not confident in what you’re saying they won’t take it seriously.
3. Don’t go too deep: Remember they just started talking and they could be within a year and above. So take things easy and be patience.
4. Don’t use naughty words: They still have young mind, so using naughty words when teaching them about sex will mess things up in the future.
Because whatever you put in their mind now is what they’ll grow up with.
5. Tell them never to allow anyone to touch their private parts: This is very important, some kids are being abused sexually without the knowledge of their parents.
So tell them to report anyone that touches their private parts to mom or dad.
6. Make them your friends: Some kids are afraid of their parents because they always shout at them.
If they are afraid of you, they won’t have the courage to tell you about someone that touched their private parts.
7. Teach them about their private parts:
For the boys, their private parts are; penis and their mouth. Tell them that nobody should touch their penis or kiss their lips.
For the girls, their private parts are; vagina, breasts and mouth.
Tell them that nobody should touch their vagina and breasts. And nobody should kiss their lips.
8. Answer their questions carefully: Most kids are so curious, they might ask you some questions that you don’t expect.
Try and answer them in the way they’ll understand. If you don’t answer the questions they will ask their friends about it, and this might lead to another thing.
9. Go deeper as they grow older: Teach them more as they get older. Don’t hide anything from them.
It is better they learn from you than to learn it from their friends.
10. Continue teaching them sex education until they’re 18: Don’t stop teaching them about sex until they become adults at 18.
Here Are The Sample Of How You Can Teach Them
1 year old to 3rd year ………… Show them their private parts and tell them their names (penis, vagina, breasts and mouth).
Don’t forget to tell them that nobody should touch them.
4th year to 6th year……….. Continue telling them that nobody should touch their private parts. And that their penis/vagina is only for urinating.
7th year to 10th year……….. At this stage they’re closer to puberty.
Puberty is the period when their sex organs start to develop and this brings about changes in size of their organs.
Many kids start puberty from eight years up. So teach them about the changes that’ll occur in their body.
For boys, their voices will start going deep, hairs will start growing on their penis and armpit.
For girls; their breasts will start to increase in size, hair will start to grow on their vagina and armpit. And they’ll start menstruating.
11th year to 13th year……….. Teach the girls on how to take care of themself during menstruation.
Explain to them how to use sanitary pads, and teach them signs of menstruation.
At this stage you can tell them that penis and vagina are also used for having sex.
Tell the girls that they’ll get pregnant when they have unprotected sex with any man.
14th year to 16th year…….. Tell the boys that having an erection, especially early morning erection.
It is a sign that they’re healthy which also mean that their penis is functional, and they are able to impregnate a girl when they’ve unprotected sex.
They’ll start having wet dreams – this takes place when they’re asleep, they’ll wake up and see semen on their inner clothes. This is for boys.
This is normal, it is the process by which old sperm go out for the production of the new ones.
They’ll also start having urges for sex. Tell them that having an urge for sex is normal and it doesn’t mean they should go and start having sex.
17th year to 19th year……… Teach them about dating. They’ll start having the desire to be friends with the opposite sex.
Guide them through so that they won’t be misled or make a wrong choice.
If you can teach them sex education in these age intervals, it will be easy for you and also easy for them.
The next thing to do is to monitor how they keep friends, because some bad friends will influence them negatively.
Read also: How To Know That Your Child Is Being Sexually Abused – My Personal Story
Conclusion
Sex education is something you should start early to teach your kids. Don’t be shy to teach them.
Remember it is your responsibility. It is more effective when parents teach their kids sex education by themselves than leaving it for their teachers.
Don’t forget to answer all their questions so that they won’t get the answers from bad friends. If you do this correctly your kids will be grateful forever.