Sex Education

There is a lot of controversy about sex education in the school system. There are parents who choose to have their children not attend (and I believe that it is policy to remove a child from the classroom with a written note from a parent) and there are parents who think it's great because now it's out of their hands.

Regardless of whether or not we choose to let our children attend, as parents we must realize that their education can not stop there. The school is really only allowed to teach the technical parts of sex ed – what goes where, body parts, how to use a condom, etc. If you feel that this should be part of your child's education, great. But there is a lot more to sex education than that that the schools are not allowed to teach.The school is not allowed to express any opinions about what is better – abstinence, safer sex, etc. This is something we as parents much teach our children. Youths who choose not to have sex (either until they are grown or until marriage) often do so because their parents have been talking to them about it from a fairly young age. They've expressed the view that sex is something special worth waiting for. They've talked to their teens about the emotional aspects of it. These young people understand the pains – both emotional and physical – that can come with having sex before they are either emotionally capable of handling it.

I grew up fairly religious (ironically yes, by my own choice, not so much my parents) and I chose not to have sex as a teenager. I chose not to mostly because I knew that I was not ready for that kind of relationship, because I had a respect for the seriousness of a sexual relationship, and because I believed in making it special.The bottom line is that kids need to know – and I believe want to know – about the emotional aspects of sexuality – not the how to's. I believe that young teens often get involved in sexual activities because they have a skewed vision of what sex is and what purpose it serves in their lives. Talking to our kids about those things will prevent them from having to go out and find out for themselves.

I'm not making any gaurentees here – just my humble opinion.