What age do you think sex ed. should start at in the school?

Question

And what age did you actually have classes (or seminars, or whatever) at? My curiosity is aroused...I never had any in school, partly due to this being a Catholic country. Share your thoughts, please.

Thanks to you all so far...I didn't expect so many answers. I should probably clarify that I went to a Catholic school in Ireland, by the way. Sex ed still isn't really taught.

Answer 1

They should start at 10. We had a puberty class in 5th grade so I would have been 11. The puberty class told us all about the changes our bodies were going through and explained periods and such. For 6th, 7th, 8th and even 9th grade we had abstinence classes which did not teach about how to stay safe when sex was involved. They just told us to wait for marriage and what STD's we'd get. And How you get pregnant.. . IE. You have sex. That's basically all we were told.

I think that we should be teaching safe sex. And that should start at about 10 or 11 no older. Because as you know by being on Answers that their are 11, 12, and 13 year olds having sex. I know someone who lost their virginity at 11 and someone who lost it at 12. They should teach how to stay safe, what is effective, what isn't effective, how to get it, laws (teen birthing/parenting laws, abortion laws, and here's a big one Age of Consent for sex laws), and everyone male and female should have to carry around one of those "Think it over babies" for 2 full days and nights and have to wear the "pregnancy belly". PLUS they should teach abstinence is best but not everyone is going to wait for marriage and those people need to be educated. That's just how I feel about it.

Good Luck in all you do.

Answer 2

I live in New York, and we started sex ed classes in 6th grade (11 and 12 years old), although it was called health class. The class was split into boys and girls. Instead of having gym class three days a week, one day the girls would go to health class instead of gym, and another day the boys would go. We were taught about puberty only. From 7th grade on, the boys and girls had the class together and we talked about puberty again, sex, birth control, pregnancy, birth, AIDS, STDs...we didn't talk about abortion and most of the birth controls on the market though (like the depo shot or the IUD). It was really about birth control pills, condoms, diaphrams, etc. The class was not about promoting sex, but to be safe if you did have sex.

I asked a question recently about when to talk about sex with my 7 year old son, and I'm still not sure when I should do it. Girls are getting pregnant younger and younger these days, and sometimes it seems that waiting until 11 years old like when I was in school is just too late. Having these classes in school is definitely important, but being an involved parent is crucial in explaining these things as well.

Answer 3

I went to catholic school as well. I was their from 1-4 grade and I remember being taught about sex and womens bodys when we get our periods and all that back then. Here, thats pretty much what parents are paying for lol. So then they feel then don't need to have "the talk" with their kids. I don't know what goes on in a catholic school after 4th grade though lol. I was kicked out of 2 catholic school because I'm in a wheelchair and they don't have to put up with things like that. But I remember learning more about it in my 5th grade which was a public school.

Answer 4

I'm not sure about where I live now, in Florida, but where I grew up- in Louisiana, I took my first sex ed class in 4th grade. My mom talked to me about it long before that though. I remember knowing pretty much everything about sex by the time I was 8. My oldest is going into 4th grade next year and we still have yet to receive anything from the school saying they will be discussing it.

Answer 5

At my school we used to do sex education at 8. Focusing mainly on pubity and the changes kids could expect to see happening in their bodies. We then went onto where babie come from in a very clear and frank way and the rule was set up at the beginning that no question was off limits.

This really worked well because at that age we hadn't really started noticing the other sex and weren't going through pubity ourselves so were able to discuss it without gigglefits and embarassment. I later recieved it at 12 and 15 both times with children who had none before and the amount of silly comments and huge misconceptions were amazing.

I think that sex education should start as young as possible with parents but be taken up by schools at the primary school age.

Answer 6

9

Answer 7

Personally I believe sex should be taught from an eary age when the child is aware enough to ask questions I think he deserves an honest answer. When I ask I was told a crow layed an egg on a stump and the sun hatched it. lol I was raised on a farm and did not ever see an animal give birth as they kept me in the house away from all that. (I'm female and there is a reason for that we won't go into here) The school I attended had just started a class on sex ed.,but you couldn't take it till you were a sophmore and it was a class with both boys and girls in it. I had a teacher that taught girls gym class and she took it upon herself to teach the girls in seventh grade about it. I made up my mind then and there my children would learn it from the time they started to ask questions. I only answered what they ask about and they learned at their own pace as they were ready for the information. Things worked out great. They could come and ask me anything about whatever was bothering them. My mother did tell me about starting my period but told me I was not to speak with any of my friends about it as their mothers may not want them to know. In third grade I had to tell a girlfriend in the fourth grade about it as they got me out of class to walk her home. Poor thing thought she was dying. I was never told anything else so when I married and got pregnant and ready to deliver I didn't even know I was delivering a child as he wasn't due for another month and I had just seen my doctor the day before. I let my children watch a dog we had deliver her puppies. They (right down to the youngest that was about five at the time) thought that was really neat and they wanted to let their children watch as they had.

Answer 8

Okay, not to sound like a perv, but I think the younger the better. I think children should be taught that sex is nothing to be afraid or ashamed of. Simply that it's an adult act that holds adult consequences. I think one of the reason kids are having sex earlier nowadays is because it's presented to them in such a bad, scary, and naughty light that it holds a certain forbidden appeal. Get rid of the bad, scary, and naughty feelings and simply and logically explain what it is and what it has the power to do and how it should be practiced, in general, and these kids would have a healthier relationship with it and probably won't be rushing to do it. I'm also a firm believer in the idea that kids should be hearing about sex from their parents first. To hear it from an adult they know, have grown with, and completely trust will help them see sex's true nature and consequences. Leaving it to the schools only adds to it's impersonal nature and forbidden allure. But this is just my opinion on the situation.

Answer 9

12

Answer 10

The first education I had was in the fifth grade. I think it's important to give kids the facts so they'll be prepared for adolescence. Lack of proper sex ed can lead to big problems. I think it's really the responsibility of the parents, but schools should teach the basics to make up for bad parents.