When do they first have sex ed?

[Flamebat]

Discussing with DH... what age do they get the first sex ed talk?

year 4 and 5 the nurse comes to talk about healthy eating, keeping clean and bulling then YR6 seperate the boys and girls and do the whole puberty thing and a quicky about sex!!

But not covering periods until year 6 is ridiculous. Whatever percentage of the girls have already started their periods will be wasting their time.

The seed analogy is very basic and misleading, and just throws up more questions than it tried to answer. I think at 6 dd is too young to know about the ins and outs of sex (groan!). She knows that boys and men have willies and balls and that there is an extra hole down there that girls have for the baby to come out of. She also knows that daddy helps mummy make the baby, but she doesn't know how. I don't want to put her off! It is a gross thing when you think about it and I remember being truly disgusted when I found out! There is no nice way of putting it really.

I am so shocked it isn't until year 5! Blimey.

We have to be doing something wrong, don't we, with our high teen pregnancy rate.

Maybe it's that some parents think sex education is the responsibility of schools?????? What about the parents??????????

in our school it starts at bout year 1, they introduce it by explaining how plants grow, from seed to germinating etc, and they all planted seeds. then they went on to talk bout the seasons and baby animals etc. we was all very worried about our children finding out so early but they have all taken to it very weel, i think it stops all the sniggering when they get a bit older.

Of course Yr 5/6 is far too late for a girl to learn about periods Bozza. But that's a parents responsibility not schools.
All mine had sex ed. at school but they all knew about how babies were made etc. much earlier because I always answered their questions truthfully.

Well yes I agree. I haven't been there yet with mine, but will try and talk to them myself. DS is 5 and asks very few questions though so probably knows very little yet.

You could buy a book to get the ball rolling Bozza. I bought one years ago by Claire Rayner but there must be several books around for younger children.
We used to take our little ones to watch the lambs and we watched a calf being born once. Things like that usually start the questions flowing!

What do you mean, Jooltoo? How does explaining how their bodies work make them grow up too soon?

Oh, I think it's so sad that people feel so horrified by telling children about sex, or think there is no nice way of telling. My son has always asked a lot of questions and we have always answered them as honestly as we can - right from the start. I remember at the age of four we were chatting in the car and the subject turned to babies and how they were made, so I told him about how when he was a big man, his body would make special seeds that could come out through his willy and go into the lady's special hole between her legs called her vagina when they have a special cuddle etc. Then the seeds would go up a tube into her body and join with an egg to make a very tiny baby that grows and grows until it comes out of the same hole for a cuddle with his mummy and daddy. He listened very intently and then said, 'That sounds nice! I can't wait until I am a big man and I can make a baby and be a daddy.' And he's actually still rather young and innocent for his age.

Apparently I asked my mum about it all when I was about 4. She was absolutely mortified but very honest with me and my response was that I thought that was how it worked because that's how animals did it (grandparents lived by a farm). Precocious brat!

I have to say, I couldn't shut my mum up after that and she was forever talking about periods and things so I never felt in the dark about anything (although often wishing we didn't have to have so many little chats )

I was 19 before I tried it out for myself and it was definitely because I knew all about pregnancy and contraception and didn't want to risk it (and then came drink and one night stands and morning after pill and completely irresponsible 20s ... didn't get pg though!)

Knowing about sex definitely did not stop me being a child. Didn't make me grow up to soon but I suspect being a mother at 14 might have...

I don't remember thinking it was 'gross' at all when my mum explained it all to me, in a basic simple way. I thought it sounded a bit outlandish - but so did many of the things that grown-ups seemed to want to do and I just wasn't interested in. I suspect that if anyone thinks anything is 'gross' then thre is either some projection or 'issues' going on.

My 4 year old has just asked me how babies are made. I wasn't sure I could tell her very well so I bought the book mummy laid an egg. It made me smile... I'm not sure this is the right approach but I want her to feel she understands (am just pregnant with number 3). Without it being too clinical and also too scary for her.

dh hates that book with a passion. One of my friends gave it to dd but he whisked it away.

Must admit, it really made me cringe too so I stuck to talking! DH is rubbish when it comes to sex ed.

Th relationships /hygiene stuff starts in KS1 then becomes more detailed in KS2(usuaully yr5)covering puberty changes .MOre detail again in KS3(contraception /STDs) and should be covered again in KS4
I have some stuff from a course last term about what should be covered (lots are optional depending on school /parents belief)

Yes 6 but dd knows all the detail anyway, the delights of being the dd of a Biology Teacher!

I have no worries. trust me if you've taught it to 28 y7 kids, your own are a walk over!

Is there any books that you would recommend then? I remember seeing a lady on This Mornin once telling everyone they should only use the scientific names for mens and ladies private parts!! Is this really the case? Any book recommendations would be gratefully received!!

Thanks

Oh I think lots of people really like 'mummy laid an egg' weebers and find it useful (particularly with little kids). Just not a personal choice of mine, that's all!

at 11 all the girls in my class had to have the rubella jab and the school nurse made the talk about it into a big sex ed talk. it was great, very informal. we got to ask questions about periods, contraception etc. we also got sex ed in the classroom from when i was 9. i remember nearly fainting at pictures of the umbilical cord

Just bought a book for my DS as pregnant,called how did i begin(mick manning & brita granstrom), it is scientific, talks about sperm,cells,chromosomes,labour ect and is writen for young children.I think it is great.

I think it should be much earlier in schools. My dd is in reception and will be 5 in Feb and we've told her basics already as she has asked. She's seen plenty of births on tv already as I used to watch the birth programs, she understands it's all normal and has no worries about it. Better for there to be no embarrassment or shyness regarding sex and relationships as that just leads to children not feeling able to talk about things that could be bothering them.

I don't think it stops them from being innocent at all, it keeps them informed about their own bodies. Ds was just 3 on Sunday and he's seen the births too but hasn't asked about sex, when he does we'll tell him too.