It is our job as parents to teach our children about sex. Studies have shown that when teenagers are taught about it by their parents, grandparents, or religious leaders, they are more likely to delay engaging in sex until an older age or until after their married. If they learn about it from their friends or the media, they are much more likely to start at a very young age because they are taught that it is “fun” or “cool”.
I have heard several stories about parents who made sure that their child did NOT participate in the sex-ed classes that are taught in schools. My family teacher told my class about a time when his wife asked their child’s principal if she could go into the sex-ed class with her child and watch the video with them. The principal told her that there was nothing she needed to worry about because they had been showing the same video for years and it’s completely safe. My teacher’s wife still wanted to watch it, so the principal finally agreed and decided he wanted to go and watch it as well since HE HAD NEVER EVEN WATCHED IT BEFORE! (How does he know that it’s safe…?) They get into the class, and not even 5 minutes into the video the principal gets up, runs to the TV, and shuts it off. He was completely embarrassed and ashamed of what the sex-ed video was teaching these young teenagers. He never again showed that video and apologized greatly to my teacher’s wife.
This story really helped me to see that we can’t rely on our schools or the media to teach our children about sex. It is our job as parents. The only way for our children to get the information we want them to get, is by teaching them ourselves and not letting others do it for us.