What is your opinion of sex education picture books for under-tens?

Question

Useful tool for teachers and parents or too much too young? What do you think and why?

Examples include: Mummy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole, 1993, My Amazing Journey by Pat Thomas, 1998, Where willy Went etc.

May I stress that none of these title are pornographic (ie intended to titillate). They are educational, factual picture books aimed at under ten year-olds.

Answer 1

I think they can be a great tool.

I learned about sex from a science book that had a section on human reproduction (with full color illustrations of genitals and all) when I was 6 or 7.

My parents simply allowed me access to any books I wanted, any subjects I was curious about...they kept a home full of literature and took me to the library twice a week, left books in eye-catching places if they thought I might be too embarrassed to ask them questions on a particular topic or maybe needed to be exposed to a certain topic because of an approaching rite-of-passage, and made themselves available to answer my questions and to LISTEN to my concerns.

My learning about sex early did not make me promiscuous or overly talkative about sex. I am 25, am healthy and STD free, have been celibate for the last 3 years, and work for an organization that does HIV/AIDS education and testing for all, without discrimination or religious motivation.

I was raised to believe that censorship was wrong--and not just the kind of censorship that means ripping books out of people's hands and burning them, but also the kind that means making certain topics taboo and certain peoples (like gays, or people with disabilities) invisible in classroom/home literature.

(What other people said about waiting for kids to ask is good, but materials should be made available in their environment so that they have a chance to know how to phrase questions and identify topics)

A free and open society is one where knowledge is shared and runs as freely as water from one cup to another. A society in which violence is the taboo in the media, as opposed to sex (which is natural and essential to life), can only be achieved if our children are free to ask about sex, and are encouraged to shun violence and violent games/toys.

Children should learn about their bodies early because this will help them to build up a confident self-image, to understand that their form and their bodily funtions are natural and normal...and this will help them to resist believing peers that tell them they are ugly, gross, fat, wierd, or the only one to have...(hips, armpit hair, breasts, erections, acne, etc.).

Problems in self-image lead to destructive behaviors (anorexia, tanning, use of cancer-linker cosmetics, pervading guilt, anxiety that prevents making friends) and believe me, kids as young as three are already being sent messages by advertising and their peers on how they should loook--so why not let science and loving parents/teachers have a chance to conteract the harm?!

Answer 2

I don't believe that it should be part of the formal education system at all, and it never used to be.
Young children can't be expected to understand the sex drive, love and emotion etc. that goes with it.

It should be left to the family. Anyway, all the evidence shows that it actually encourages young people to engage in sexual activity. Particularly, when condoms are being handed out to them and the morning after pill being made available, if the former should fail. Not to mention abortions without telling the parents.
Talk about the state taking children over from their parents.

If I were a parent, I would be livid if some left wing teacher told me that they had the power to do these things without talking to me.

Answer 3

I think there should be Love Education books, as there isn't enough love in the world these days. Where does this assumption come from that parents don't teach their kids enough sex education? It's not 1883, when the first thing you knew of sex was on the wedding night! And it was called "Filth"! No. If my kids are curious I tell them straight up what they need to know, appropriate to their age. I'd be suspicious of any child that knows too much too young; it's child abuse. I teach them the facts of life, that is differences between the sexes, how babies are born (not made) etc. Sex education picture books makes me think it's pornographic, and that would be Wrong.

Answer 4

'Mummy laid an Egg' was just fabulous, and I felt really useful when small children ask where babies come from. I suppose it depends on the type of book, there are some details that are not necessary at a young age, but basic honesty about the facts of life is never a bad thing and sensitively drawn cartoons can be very helpful in conveying the basics

Answer 5

My daughter is 11 in July, I have been open with her about sex for about 4 years now. The last thing I wanted was for my daughter to be mis-informed by her school pals, I believe this can effect them more than the truth. I think that far too many parents put sex behind closed doors, this leads to unwanted teenage pregnancies and STD's. educate children about sex in an open informal manner, this will eliminate promiscuity, resulting in a healthy attitude and confident decisions from our children.

I think they are useful tools, but I also think you need to be confident enough to explain the answers to the questions they will ask. ( that aren't in the book).

Hope this helps

Answer 6

I think you should take your cues from the child. Don't offer up any information until they ask questions about it. A five-year old may ask where babies come from, but the answer should be age-appropriate. They don't need all the specific details at that age. In giving this material to children too early, we're causing them to grow up too fast. In my opinion, all an under-ten needs to understand is the"good touch, bad touch" philosophy. Leave sex education alone until 13 or so.

Answer 7

20 years ago I would have said that under ten was much too young to educate kids about sex, but now they're exposed to so much so early that they should at least be given the bare basics as soon as they're curious and knowledgeable enough to ask the questions. Picture books, however, would probably be hard to mainstream to educators. It is my opinion that our schools may not yet be ready for that.

Answer 8

I think that they're a good idea. My aunt bought me one when i was ten and it meant that i knew bout stuff. Come to think of it, I stillhaven't had the talk and I'm 23. Maybe I WAS brought by a stork????

Can take away a lot of embarassment for M+D and it means that the sprogs won't grow up thinkin that its bad or dirty.

Be available for any questions that they may ask though after reading the book

Answer 9

9 and 10 year old now a day are ready for especially the ones that live in the city like my kids all kids talk about sex so i would prefer my kids be taught the right way about sex though books even if they have picture instead of being curious and learning though experimenting with each other

Answer 10

I think it should be given at 12 or 13 and again at 15