May 31st 2008

The Importance of Sex Education in schools

Sex Education is a very important issue today. Children nowadays are not aware or do not know what are the results of having unprotected sex and having to take care of the child after birth. In St.Lucia, alot of parents are afraid to talk or even approach their children about sex, causing them to know little or nothing at all about sex and thus having them to be parents at the age of 14 or earlier.

Why teach children about sex education? Sex education informs a young child about sex and how to abstain. I believe abstinence is the best option for children today especially if they are not ready. Like the advertisement says “Sex is for adults”. So what I’m trying to say is, no matter how ready a child believes he or she is, they should refrain from sex until they are of consented age.

Condoms were designed to protect both partners from sexually transmitted diseases and the female from getting pregnant. So they must be used at all times especially for the unprepared youth of today’s society. Before thinking of having sex, they should consider the consequences of their actions. No matter how much parents try their best to instill abstinence into their children’s head it just won’t work so easily. The children need to know what good comes out of abstinence. Although there is no bad, they need some form of explanation by giving examples or even in a pictorial way. Parents can only advice their children, if they choose other wise it’s their fault if they fall flat on their behinds.

Sex Ed should also be taught to keep children especially teens safe from unwanted pregnancy and diseases, most importantly the increasing spread of HIV and AIDS. Most times children who are abused would not tell their parents when they are abused. The reason is because children pick up cues from their parents; if sex is never talked about, or if the parents’ reaction towards sex and the sexual behavior of their children was disapproving, then children will be very reluctant to tell if they've been abused.
In school I was warned of the dangers of sex such as sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy was only briefly mentioned. Most parents for the most part taught abstinence and the children’s friends would preach to them the fun they can have being sexually active.
No one speaks the truth about pregnancy before it's too late, not one tiny bit of the harsh reality finds its way into a teen’s education. Teens and unprepared young adults should be told some of what they could expect perhaps it would cause them to rethink before they take that five meters leap into their first sexual encounter.
What about an education on the cost? The cost of diapers, wipes, bottles, formula and clothes. Then there's the cost of living, rent, bills and groceries. How much is the minimum wage or even; sad but true, the maximum amount you could receive on welfare? All these things tend to be discussed after the unprepared individual turns up pregnant; when there's no other choice but to deal with the issue. Why do we not teach these things at school? In sex Ed I only learned how to put a condom on a banana, not how hard it will be to raise a baby.
No matter what people may say about Sex Education, I would never agree unless if it was to introduce it in schools. If it was introduced earlier within the years, the majority of children born today would have been saved for the well planned moment. Sex education can work miracles in schools in St.Lucia.

By Cotney John