The reason why *most* parents who feel sex-ed should be an at-home education is because sex is inherently linked with morality and they'd prefer to teach their child within the bounds of the sexual morality they feel is right.

It is the parents responsibility to teach their children about these topics, the government shouldn't have to do it.

Obviously it has to be age appropriate!! There are no teachers trying to teach them everything. Who are you talking about???

Not 3 -- although by then they know that the babby comes out of mummy's tummy - they will ask how it got there

I can clearly remember asking my mum if babies came out of your belly button - she must have been embarrassed because she assured me they did

Chris Jones: I read some stories where people try to explain too much for the kids age.

The comment has downvotes because Josie seems to be mistaking opinions with years of gathered data and research. You think a parent knows best whats appropriate for their child, but theres years of data (but to be fair all you need is common sense) that the sole fact that you had made a baby doesnt automatically qualify you as an expert in child development. We know the sex ed program lowered teen pregnancies and STDs by a lot. The most important thing said in the original comment is ''if the child is old enough to ask the question its old enough to know the answer'', common sense tells you that if you lie to a child about these topics youre uncomfortable with it will learn to distrust you on these topics, if you shut the child down and dont give them answers they will learn to seek answers elsewhere (parents often think this means kids forgot about the subject). The question then becomes do you want your kid to learn from the internet or their peers or from an educated adult?

Bambi, the sex-ed you're talking about occurs in middle to high school. The topic Josie is focusing on is the population of young children in which there is a varying degree of learning/educational/curiosity levels. I'm not so sure anyone is arguing that pre-teem to teens are ready for at least some kind of sex ed, but grade-school is typically age 11 and below. Dian's comment is exactly opinion, though you're trying to imply that shes somehow siting evidence for grade-school sex ed when really she's being exactly a condescending "knows-best". Lets not create a false equivalency just because someone has a differing opinion than yourself.

I fully agree and don't understand why your comment has downvotes.

Agreed, I found Dian's comment totally pompous and condescending.

BambI I’m wondering what comment you read because I don’t think it was mine. If it was mine, I’m thinking you didn’t read it very closely because you made a bunch of critiques about things I never wrote about. I didn't mistake opinion and data, my comment was a reply to effectively an anecdote ergo opinion. No citation or study, just life experience. I did not claim being parent qualified anyone to be an expert in childhood development. STDs and teen pregnancies I don't believe is something to be discussed with a 0-7 year old. I say that because I don't think it's something that can fully comprehended by a child of that age, I never mentioned lying to a child either, I also never mentioned parental discomfort with discussing it. You've read I think two sentences of my comment, decided that I'm against sex Ed, that's just not true. But there is an appropriate approach for each child depending on their age, level of maturity and intellect. I just think is there at 0-7 years.

In days gone bye in England - when young children asked where babies came from - it was traditional to tell them the Stork bring them, or that they were found under gooseberry bushes

Oh, in Spain we used to say (grandparents generation) that daddy put a seed into mum's tummy... But after dictature everybody explain plain the reality.

American babies were found under cabbages. We don't have gooseberry bushes, had to find the babies somewhere =)

Gooseberry bush? I don't think many americans know that fairy tale.

The sex education (reproduction and contraception) really needs to be taught BEFORE puberty and hormones kick in -it's a bit late when the 12 year old girl is pregnant

you can teach young children the facts of reproduction in humans without harming them - they also need to know that the process is reserved for "grown-ups". so they are aware that it is very wrong if another adult approaches them and tells them it is normal and OK

You can talk about sex without doing jokes and you can do jokes about farts, pee, poo and other physiological items. When your jokes are "inapropiate" it's when you need education in the matter, whatever the matter you use in your inapropiate jokes.

Well, since children touch themselves when they are three and before, when they ask and are curious, when we want to protect them from weird relations with weird adult people... love, afectivity and sex is not some words to make jokes and if it is for you, then you have a problem

*you know, penis in vagina (sorry about spelling, my phone ate few letters)

I think it's more about what's do you mean by "teaching about sex". I think there id nothing wrong with 8years old knowing that men and women have different parts and how babies are made (you know, penis vs, sperm and egg, what happens durring pregnancy, etc). But it's more simple biology, then "sex ed".