When is the Right Age/Time to teach Sex Education?

Something happened recently that left me perplexed. I sat down in class trying to make sense of the figures before me i.e. the total scores of the pupils at the end of the term. A female student about 12 years old, came up to me with two little girls who where both 6 years old and reported that they had their hands under their school uniform and were fondling themselves.

I looked at the little girls before me and struggled to believe a word the reporter* said. I had to ask again, what did you say? She repeated the same thing to the hearing and amazement of my colleagues.

One of my colleagues started to interrogate the girls and found out they actually engaged in the act. Each one blamed the other for suggesting the act. We questioned them to know if they were abused at home or where they could have learned such an act but they said they were not molested at home and were sorry to engage in such act.

We gave them a pep talk on sex education, on what should be done and what should not be done. Am talking about year one pupils. It's been weeks but the incidence keeps replaying in my head. I had to tell my colleague that I think it's time we planned a sex education session for the children. He looked at me and said , "is it not to early? is it appropriate for their age?.

Now I ask, dear readers , what is the right age for sex education?.. from research , here is what I've found ..

Sex education can be simply defined as teaching/mentoring/ tutoring or telling others about the different genders and diverse parts of our bodies and their uses. It also involves educating people on sexual intercourse, the right time and way to go about it and the pros and cons of it. Sex education happens at anytime and it's best that for children, parents take charge of it ( Staff, 2011). In Staff (2018) opinion sex education should start from kindergarten. Here is a summary of study i gathered;

1. From kindergarten to 8 years old, children should know and learn the different parts of the their body and what's a good touch and a bad touch

2. Some children have attain puberty at the age of 9. so from 9 years and above, children should be taught the mechanism of sex.How it works and how they can protect themselves from friends and abuse.

3. Teenagers are usually a tad bit difficult to speak with about sex education, they want to be in their world and start experiencing diverse things. Albeit, sex education is often needed most at this time to avoid peer pressure. They can be taught diverse ways to handle peer pressure about sex and also things about body shaming and how to improve their self esteem to achieve their desirable goals.

While discussing this issue with a friend , she stated that there is a move ( not confirmed) to abolish any discussion of Sex in the classroom, in Nigeria. I think i would do an opinion poll on " if sex education should be taught in schools in Nigeria" .

References:

1. Kneteman, L. ( 2018) How to talk to your kids about sex an age by age guide https://www.todaysparent.com/family/parenting/age-by-age-guide-to-talking-to-kids-about-sex/

2. Staff, S. (2011) Sex education: What children should learn and when https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?contentid=716&language=English

3. Punch Online ( 2017) When is the right age to teach a child sex education? https://punchng.com/right-age-teach-child-sex-education/