At what age should sex education be taught?

Soldato
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In reality, teaching 4 year olds that they might have been "born in the wrong body" is bloody awful.
I'd say the education should revolve around acceptance of people rather than the segregation of people into rigid stereotypes.
Teaching people there's not 'being manly' and 'being girly' and that you don't have to be one or the other.

I have trans friends, I also have 'butch' female friends who're heterosexual, teaching children to be them and it's ok is the best way forwards without focusing on any agenda
 
Soldato
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Girls probably don't want boys around when they might have questions to ask about menstruation and things of that nature
That's different from not teaching the boys about menstruation.
It'd be better to have one class, have a box you can leave a question in and have questions answered to the whole class so everyone learns is far better.
 
Associate
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I don't think there is such a thing as "too young" so long as the education is age appropriate. Aged 4 I'd expect 'sex education' to be along the lines of if some one asks to see/touches/takes photographs of your private parts or shows you their private parts/ask you to touch them, that is wrong and you should tell an adult you trust. I also don't think there's anything wrong with introducing the idea of consent, for example before you hug someone/some one hugs you, it is important to check that its ok.

You don't need to talk about penises, vaginas, protection etc to be delivering sex education. Unfortunately young children aren't immune from abuse, after all so it's not unreasonable to give them the tools they need should they need them in a non threatening, non frightening way.
 
Caporegime
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I'd say the education should revolve around acceptance of people rather than the segregation of people into rigid stereotypes.
Teaching people there's not 'being manly' and 'being girly' and that you don't have to be one or the other.
Agreed.

I also do think there's a case for anti-grooming education at a fairly young age. Tho what form that should take I have no idea.
 
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My sister in law almost stopped her daughter from being involved in this for the reasons most of you have said but it turned out it was mostly about the nspcc pants rule.

It was a good way for the kids to understand about something terrible that sadly does go on and what to do.
 
Soldato
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I don't think there is such a thing as "too young" so long as the education is age appropriate. Aged 4 I'd expect 'sex education' to be along the lines of if some one asks to see/touches/takes photographs of your private parts or shows you their private parts/ask you to touch them, that is wrong and you should tell an adult you trust. I also don't think there's anything wrong with introducing the idea of consent, for example before you hug someone/some one hugs you, it is important to check that its ok.

You don't need to talk about penises, vaginas, protection etc to be delivering sex education. Unfortunately young children aren't immune from abuse, after all so it's not unreasonable to give them the tools they need should they need them in a non threatening, non frightening way.

Which is pretty much what happens if you ignore the tabloid headlines and frothing religious/prudish/ignorant rantings*

*from my sample size of 11 nursery/primary schools, including my child's
 
Soldato
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You really do know everyone.

Around 50% of the world's population is female. Knowing lots of women is not the sort of claim you need to challenge. And amongst my female friends, you will be no doubt shocked to learn that the statistically overwhelmingly likely scenario of the majority of them not being average, is in fact, what occurred. Yes - a lot of women don't fit to standard gender norms. Why my moving in broad social circles repeatedly confounds you I don't know. But you always come up with this whenever it's something you don't want to hear. Anything actually wrong in what I wrote? Why do you think it so strange and implausible that women who weren't typical girly-girls when young back then would be picked up as trans today when this is exactly what the school presentations and children's books I've literally just shown you evidence? None of what I wrote is incorrect so you do your usual insinuation that someone must be lying. And what's idiotic is you pull it with perfectly normal things like this.

This is such an outdated thing I hope they stop it soon

Because you don't want to ask intimate personal questions in front of a roomful of leering, laughing boys who are all going "Ewwww, gross" if you ask a question about tampons. Or take any question about sex as an invitation.

The problem is that the pro-trans agenda is now getting mixed in with sex ed (quite deliberately), so that if you're against the trans agenda you're now "against children's education".

Which is exactly the outcome they want.

In reality, teaching 4 year olds that they might have been "born in the wrong body" is bloody awful.

Exactly. They try to piggy back on gay rights movement but it's not the same thing at all.

I'd say the education should revolve around acceptance of people rather than the segregation of people into rigid stereotypes.

Then you exactly get where we're coming from when we dislike groups like Mermaids and Allsorts teaching young girls that if they're attracted to other girls or interested in mechanics or whatever, that this makes them less of a girl. But this is explicitly what is being taught in our schools.
 
Caporegime
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Dunno 10 or 11 might make sense.

I vaguely recall a "girls only talk", related to periods, when i was in school-age... I think about ten....
At the time we all thought it was hilarious. I remember one girl getting called a "jam doughnut" because she had started pretty early compared to the others.

TBH i was 10/11 whatever, I can t even remember yesterday.....

Sex education? Probably year 9/10 at senior school even though that's well below the age of UK consent but you know.... Boys will be boys! and boys grow into future rapists.
 
Soldato
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Because it's quite obvious that this "education" is agenda driven. The power of lobbying is influencing what kids are being taught.

Also correct me if I'm wrong but parents can still opt their kids out of religious education at schools?

Is there an example available of how the education system is being lobbied, who's doing it and to what end? I'm genuinely interested in that because as a parent I can't think of any reason to stage an intervention on any aspect of my child's education. I think the system should be trusted, but maybe I'm being naive?

Schools should also be providing free condoms

Absolutely not, I would be horrified if my children were actively encouraged to break the law and came home with condoms in their schoolbag.

I'd say the education should revolve around acceptance of people rather than the segregation of people into rigid stereotypes.

That's my interpretation of what's being taught, and agree it's a really good thing.
 
Soldato
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That's different from not teaching the boys about menstruation.
It'd be better to have one class, have a box you can leave a question in and have questions answered to the whole class so everyone learns is far better.

Sounds a lot of hassle. Raise your hand, ask for the box, write a question, put it in the box, have it be pretty obvious it was your question when the teacher then pulls it out. Or do you think kids know what questions they'll think of before the actual talk? Do you think there will be a whole series of talks to make sure all questions are answered and you repeat in a loop until there are no more questions from the previous lesson? In sex education, which is embarrassing enough, you want to do everything you can do to make people feel comfortable asking questions. Separating boys and girls is a very simple and immediate way of helping achieve that for both boys and girls. I suspect you are against it mainly on ideological grounds. If you are worried about boys not learning about menstruation, explain to me why that wouldn't be included in the boys class also.
 
Soldato
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Around 50% of the world's population is female. Knowing lots of women is not the sort of claim you need to challenge. And amongst my female friends, you will be no doubt shocked to learn that the statistically overwhelmingly likely scenario of the majority of them not being average, is in fact, what occurred. Yes - a lot of women don't fit to standard gender norms. Why my moving in broad social circles repeatedly confounds you I don't know. But you always come up with this whenever it's something you don't want to hear. Anything actually wrong in what I wrote? Why do you think it so strange and implausible that women who weren't typical girly-girls when young back then would be picked up as trans today when this is exactly what the school presentations and children's books I've literally just shown you evidence? None of what I wrote is incorrect so you do your usual insinuation that someone must be lying. And what's idiotic is you pull it with perfectly normal things like this.
I think you, deliberately, like to reduce this to binaries. 'tom-boys' are not being 'diagnosed' as trans.

Your own previous post had an image showing a 'spectrum' whereby it suggested it is normal to appear anywhere along it. It doesn't 'diagnose' you trans, or even GNC (Gender-Non-Conforming), but simply says that if you don't feel you match up to a strict male/female split, then that's nothing to be worried about.
 
Soldato
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That's different from not teaching the boys about menstruation.
It'd be better to have one class, have a box you can leave a question in and have questions answered to the whole class so everyone learns is far better.

I'm not sure, I thought it worked well in school, boys are a bit more mature about that kind of thing when there aren't a load of girls to show off to. They obviously should be taught the same things though.
 
Soldato
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Because you don't want to ask intimate personal questions in front of a roomful of leering, laughing boys who are all going "Ewwww, gross" if you ask a question about tampons. Or take any question about sex as an invitation.

Then you exactly get where we're coming from when we dislike groups like Mermaids and Allsorts teaching young girls that if they're attracted to other girls or interested in mechanics or whatever, that this makes them less of a girl. But this is explicitly what is being taught in our schools.
Point one;
See my later post, I think we are talking about different age ranges with your mention of 'invitation' but I would argue that earlier education of menstruation for boys would help alleviate the 'eww gross' comments.

Point 2;
I know nothing of the 'Mermaids' approach to teaching, my son hasn't been exposed to it, but I've heard advocates amount people I know.
From their site and your post's screenshot it doesn't suggest 'if you're not these binaries (princess/g.i. joe) you're the third category of 'spectrum''?
Education that everyone is a part of a 'traditional masculine/feminine' spectrum (which is definitely my experience in life) would be better for everyone.
 
Soldato
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This is such an outdated thing I hope they stop it soon

Hmm it's a tricky one.

Girls probably don't want boys around when they might have questions to ask about menstruation and things of that nature

This, and both ways really - I'm not sure boys were particularly interested in that topic either. You knew girls had periods, but that was about all you wanted to know.
 
Soldato
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I'm not sure, I thought it worked well in school, boys are a bit more mature about that kind of thing when there aren't a load of girls to show off to. They obviously should be taught the same things though.
My problem was the " talk about stuff related to your own gender" part of your post, rather than the separate classes, children will always be immature.
 
Soldato
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See, it's interesting on this thread, there's a handful of topics about what should and shouldn't be taught, or how things are taught, and even all as adults there's not one complete agreement on anything. So it's no wonder that schools find this stuff complicated to structure or decide what needs to be taught.
 
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