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What do you tell young students wanting to know where babies come from?
Shawna De La Rosa
Sept. 25, 2019
Dive Brief:
Most parents are uncomfortable discussing the topic of where babies
come from before children are 10, but the answer is easier than most
adults realize — and the “Amaze Jr.” video series is designed to help
explain this and other topics to young students, according to The
Hechinger Report.
The videos dive into the differences between boys and girls, explain
that babies grow inside of mothers’ bodies in a uterus and that they
emerge into the world through a vagina, and largely stick to a
“just-the-facts” approach that satisfies many of younger children’s
questions.
Sex education in schools is limited for younger age groups, with only
Oregon, Delaware and Washington, D.C., requiring comprehensive sex
education beginning in kindergarten, and only 31 states requiring sex
ed in any grade. Another 21 states don’t require sex ed to be medically
accurate, while seven require that teachers portray those in the LGBTQ
community negatively or ban teachers from mentioning those groups all
together.
Dive Insight:
The amount of sexual education taught, and when it is given, varies
from state to state — and some states don’t address the issue at all.
The Austin Independent School District in Texas recently sought input
on the topic from the community by holding focus groups and sending out
surveys, The responses surprised the district, particularly about the
importance of learning about consent in sexual relationships.
The National Sexuality Education Standards backed by the American
School Health Association, American Association for Health Education,
National Educaiton Association Health Information Network and Future of
Sex Education say students should be able to identify what consent
means in high school, but only eight states require that sexual
education mention the topic. Part of the curriculum should include
teaching students how to say the word “no” and also respect it when
it’s said to them by others.
Some sexuality educators believe discussions about what is and isn’t
consent should begin before students hit puberty. Instilling the idea
that “no means no” is important to do early on, they say.
Research also shows abstinence-only sex education does not prevent
unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Students are less
likely to have sex, get pregnant and contract STDs if their schools
teach sex ed.
A tiered, age-appropriate approach may be the best route. Boston Public
Schools, for example, starts a comprehensive sex ed program in
elementary school that starts with hygiene, puberty and friendships
before discussing more mature topics like contraception, sexual
decision-making, dating violence, consent, gender identity and sexual
preferences as students get older.
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