Your Teen’s Ideal Sexual Education

Did you know that the average time between the onset of puberty and the beginning of a committed sexual relationship is longer today than it has ever been in human history?

After all these years, it would be ridiculous to say “no.” The physiological makeup of today’s kids is considerably different from that of their ancestors. Our improved diets, artificial lighting, decreased physical exercise, and the rise of sexually suggestive media are to blame for early puberty, increased sexual activity, and higher fertility than in the past. Unfortunately, it’s quite difficult to protect your child from too sexualized media. According to estimates, 14,000 sexual allusions are seen by children annually. The negative ramifications of impolite sexual behaviour are hardly depicted in television depictions of sex and sexual innuendo.

My daughter, a medical student, spent time in an inner-city clinic shadowing an OG-GYN doctor. She was shocked to learn that this doctor spent 75% of her time seeing female patients under 18. These women either had dreadful illnesses, were expecting children, or had an STD. The doctor told her that giving these young girls the right medication and warning them about the dangers of future unprotected sexual contact was the most she could do for them. She expected that most of them would have more serious problems when returning.

Children feel the sexual desire in their bodies long before they are psychologically ready to commit to the obligations of an adult relationship. Until we can instil in our children the notion that having sex is natural and not shameful, we will have to deal with the consequences of unguarded and reckless sex.

No money is set up expressly for thorough sex education in our schools. In the media our children are exposed to, they are not being educated about diseases, contraceptives, or the distinctions between male and female anatomy. Children must comprehend how their bodies respond sexually, and girls must learn how their bodies are physically and emotionally tied to all phases of their menstrual cycles.

Teenage Girls Should be Conscious of the Following:

How to respect one’s ability to enjoy pleasure and body and self. It’s nearly forbidden to discuss happiness. Talking about this is awkward. The best tactic is to show a daughter that having sexual arousal is normal and an important part of being a human. It is inappropriate for girls to feel guilty about having sexual thoughts. It’s fine and common for girls to masturbate. The life force that appears during an orgasm is essentially the foundation for one’s physical energy, health, and vitality. Girls aware of this can better safeguard their bodies during unsupervised sex.

On Valentine’s Day 2008, I read about a little controversy involving peer treatment on a New Jersey radio news website. The news stories were based on information from one high school in New Jersey, Clearview Regional High School in Harrison Township in the southern part of the state. Parents are against first-year students being counselled on various sex education-related topics by high school juniors and seniors. The Teen Pep program served as the inspiration for the counselling strategy. More than 50 high schools in Garden State have been using Teen Pep, a program developed by the Princeton Center for Leadership Training (a non-affiliate of Princeton University), for the past eight years. Teen Pep is, therefore, a familiar idea, and school districts have had time to study it; only recently has one specific institution made the news.

Faculty advisers are also given training by Teen Pep to work together individually and collectively in several counselling situations, in addition to students. Teen Pep contracting schools work with the Princeton Center for at least two years, and qualified professionals do supervisory field visits to ensure the program is running well. Teen Pep requires sizable financial and intellectual input from each participating school to run effectively. The program’s parent education is part of this commitment.

This gets me to my first lesson: if you aren’t ready to consider these investments seriously, don’t make them.

As I read about the incident at Clearview High, it became clear that the school’s administration, not the program, was to blame. It would have been simpler for them if they had immediately consulted with their parents and the church. Although parents and clergy believe they have substantial expertise and opinions on sex education, I am aware that instructors have fought this—they did so back in 1980.

The connection between faith and sexuality. Both biochemically and neurologically, there is a substantial difference between engaging in casual sex with a person you don’t care about and engaging in sex as an extension of an emotional bond. For girls to have this strong, adoring relationship, they need a positive sense of their value.

The specifics of men’s and women’s sexual anatomy. Just as important as comprehending the mechanics of one’s menstrual cycle are the many stages and the related emotional and physical changes that occur throughout the month. It’s common for girls to hear that having a process identifies them as women. Girls should be given the information they need to understand what it means for the feminine life energy to awaken this cycle because this process takes time. Girls need to realize how miraculous their bodies are as a part of a process.

The information on how to protect themselves from STDs and prevent becoming pregnant. There is no proof that this information increases young people’s propensity for sexual behaviour. Teenagers frequently confuse oral sex with sexual contact and may not identify it as sex. STDs like HIV and AIDS can be transmitted through verbal communication. Girls who succumb to peer pressure to engage in oral sex to fit in and become popular will learn about our society’s discriminatory attitudes and their own discounted status.

Realizing that their bodies belong to them is the best lesson for teenagers, given that it is a crucial part of their lives. Since information is power, all teenagers should receive a complete education on sex. The finest advocates for pushing the right kind of education in the classroom can be parents, who act as their children’s first teachers and are often the best advocates for such education. Don’t let a loud minority doom your children to poverty and abuse.