Sex Education
Have you seen that episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ where the characters (scientists) are to give a talk to middle school girls about science? One of the scientists (Sheldon), to spark their interest in the subject, thinks it’s wise to get himself prepared for that lecture by searching “How do I get 12-year-old girls excited”. Thankfully he is promptly stopped by his friends. You can see how that search could backfire right…? How to Block Explicit Content on Searches Every search engine is a machine. It can easily misinterpret that innocent search to bring out sensitive, illegal or adult results. Which is where the real problem lies. Your child might have heard an unfamiliar word […]
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Sure, the horrors of the holocaust do not compare with the body image, sexual, alcohol and drug use struggles faced by today’s teens and tweens. But psychologists argue that both situations result when ordinary people are under extraordinary pressure to conform to the norm. In fact, nowadays, this pressure doesn’t need to be extraordinary. Any pressure whatsoever would drive a specific conforming behaviour. Peer pressure arises from our deep-rooted human need to conform. It is not something kids suddenly learn in teenage years, but rather an innate evolutionary trait that is present from infancy. When a child falls down, he looks up to the parents to gauge whether or not to cry. If mom reacts in fear, […]
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Have you ever caught your 3-year-old touching his/her genitals during diaper changes or even in public? How about inspecting another child’s… uh… ‘Anatomy’? ? Well, it turns out the behaviour is normal according to a study which shows that a toddler’s penis can actually get erect. Humans are highly sexual beings, even from the early stages of development. One of the founding fathers of psychology – Sigmund Freud – posed that from birth to age 6 children experience a series of phases of sexual development. The Oral (0 – 1 year), the Anal (1 – 3 years) and Phallic/genital (3 – 6 years) stages of development, where sexual gratification comes from the mouth and putting objects in […]
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The debate about the type of sex education to give is an age long one. When we were young, many of us were taught using the abstinence-only approach. As we can confirm, it wasn’t the most effective approach. In an online poll, 89% of the population (parents) confirmed that the abstinence-only approach is ineffective. Okay, let’s analyse both approaches: Abstinence-Only Approach Abstinence-only sex education is a method of sex ed whose basic idea is ‘not having sex outside of marriage’. It very frequently omits other vital parts of sexual and reproductive health education, such as contraceptives and safe sex. Research does not support its effectiveness. It has also been discovered to be ineffective in reducing HIV […]
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If we think hard enough, I’m sure we can all think of a moment in our history when we felt cornered or forced to do something we didn’t want to. We did those things we aren’t proud of because we were scared of the social consequences or maybe because as explained by psychologists, humans are natural conformists. As adults, we have learnt ways to cope with the need to conform, but teenagers haven’t. Their social standings drive a vast majority of what they do. These seemingly insignificant pressures are deep, all-too-real struggles for them. Bert Fulks, a minister in West Virginia USA, came up with a full proof exit strategy to protect children from peer pressure. With his […]
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There is a lot of debate as to whether or not we can teach sex education to children less than 6 years old, which topics such an education would include, and at what age it should start. But in recent times, with the increase in child molestation and rape cases, parents are beginning to agree that sex education has to be done earlier than before. This revelation can make you wonder if there are other ideas you held about sex education that are wrong. Some misconceptions about sex education are: 1. You have to wait until kids are older. Wrong! The concept of sexuality is usually attributed to adolescence and kept separate from childhood. However, unlike a can […]
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Reports of rape are at an all-time high. Statistics tell us that people aged 12 – 24 are 92% more likely to be raped; and 22% of all rapes of females occur before the age of 12. This abuse is because children are more naive around this age. It is generally easier to take advantage of them. Child molesters may not always be strangers. They could be family members, friends and even older teens. As such, we cannot overstress the need to protect your child from molestation. Further research shows that at least 15% of people under age 17 will get raped and those who are raped are up to 10 times more likely to abuse drugs. They […]
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Teenagehood is a stage of life that is very frequently accompanied by exploration. Whether it is intentional or not, there has been some confusion expressed by young people when it comes to the issue of sex and consent. Several young adults have been faced with rape and didn’t realise it at the time because although they were familiar with the word, they didn’t understand that a family member or their crush could do it and they wish their parents had explicitly talked to them about it. — Teach them what consent is? Oxford English dictionary defines consent as ‘permission for something to happen or agreement to do something’. Simply put, consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the […]
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Reports of sexual assaults have dramatically increased in recent times. Statistics show that more than half of all rapes of females occur before they are age 18; 22% occur before they are 12. Because children are more naive around this age, and child molesters are not always strangers, we cannot overemphasise the need to protect your child from molestation. Although adolescents may not be engaging in sexual behaviours with each other, the beliefs and attitudes they develop in these formative years are what they will carry into adulthood. It will most likely affect how they treat people, how others treat them, and their choice of partners in the future. This talk is the difference between a healthy […]
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The internet is still arguably the greatest invention of the 21st century. However, it also gives everyone -adults and children alike – easy access to anything across the globe: even sensitive information and adult content. The most troubling part of this discovery is that, while all this is true, your child may not be looking for such content to stumble unto it. Luckily, there are some ways to protect children from inappropriate online content through their mobile devices. Here’s how: On iPhone or iPad (IOS) Open the iPhone or iPad’s settings. ‘Settings’ is a grey app whose icon is a gear ⚙️ Scroll until you locate the ‘general’ tab, tap on it. Scroll and tap on ‘restrictions’. […]
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Have you seen that episode of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ where the characters (scientists) are to give a talk to […]
Sure, the horrors of the holocaust do not compare with the body image, sexual, alcohol and drug use struggles faced […]
Have you ever caught your 3-year-old touching his/her genitals during diaper changes or even in public? How about inspecting another […]
The debate about the type of sex education to give is an age long one. When we were young, many […]
If we think hard enough, I’m sure we can all think of a moment in our history when we felt […]
There is a lot of debate as to whether or not we can teach sex education to children less than […]
Reports of rape are at an all-time high. Statistics tell us that people aged 12 – 24 are 92% more […]
Teenagehood is a stage of life that is very frequently accompanied by exploration. Whether it is intentional or not, there […]
Reports of sexual assaults have dramatically increased in recent times. Statistics show that more than half of all rapes of […]
The internet is still arguably the greatest invention of the 21st century. However, it also gives everyone -adults and children […]