Five Important Things I'd Like To Stress Upon When It Comes To Sex Education1) One of the common problems you see when sex education isn't imparted properly is pregnancy. What young unmarried girls come to me for abortions, the family covers it up by saying,
"Chalo galti ho gayi, abortion karva lo!" (Okay, this was all a mistake. Please get the abortion done!) Very few people know in advance that one such abortion can lead to permanent infertility or sterility in a woman. Everyone's worried only about AIDS. Ladies, the first time you make love, you may not get AIDS. But you might get burdened with permanent infertility. Only when women know the risks involved, they'll make attempts to avoid them.
2) Parents need to be particularly careful during the middle of the menstrual cycle (10 to 20 days after a period). Parents must be careful because sexual urges or natural stimulation levels by hormones are highest at this time. Parents, you have got to remember this when you allow them to parties with their friends.
Also, since schools are the foundations of a child's education,they must help further the concept of sex education, even if it has to be in a subtle way in the earlier stages. This education provided at schools must be coupled with unconditional love at home.
We say we protect our kids from every possible risk. However, we fail to listen to them. And what happens then?
A majority of child abuse is by someone known to the child. Your child may want to tell you, "This uncle touches me in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable."
What is our likely response?
"No, no! Don't talk about him like that! He's a very nice person!"
3) Parents commonly have this in mind, "Why should we educate our kids about sex when our parents never did anything of the sort?"
When we were young, there were no sources to give the wrong impression about sex. Today, your child can just Google
sex, and close to 600,000,000 results pop up.
The glamour industry impresses upon our children that their ordinary life should be just like the movies. Who will tell them that this is all a farce, a facade? The movies are
not reality!
4) Outside India, sex education is a part of the curriculum. Take a look at what's happening there.
"Will it happen in our country, too?" is a common doubt in the minds of us parents.
There, sex is not a taboo, it's a free practice, but there's no happiness.
Kids there don't see happiness at home or in their family. They don't see love at home between their parents. Love isn't only about sex!
5) "Animals don't need sex education. Then why would we intelligent, progressive and highly civilized humans need something like that?"
Well, let me tell you, animals don't use the Internet!
Also, who knows animal language? They have their own methods and techniques of training their young ones in sex and mating issues, just like they train them to forage for food.
A person's happiness depends on a happy family life. Understanding, appreciating and accepting one's own sexuality is the key to physical, mental and psychological development. I seek to shed some light on how to remove the dogmas of sex education we parents have grown up with. When we remove these dogmas, we open the doors of mental development for our children,. And this is the best gift we can ever give them.