FINAL TSTO Lesa Dec 14.pdf - Flipbook - Page 8
1. INTRODUCTION
… with our generation, for our parents — it was just a taboo subject. Whereas this generation, we’re more
open about it. Back when I went to school some people had sex education, and a lot of people didn’t ... It
makes it easier if you had something.
Most parents and carers know that, just like learning how to play
or talk, sexual development is a part of human development. We
know that it will happen whether we talk with our children about
sexual matters or not.
We can be so worried
about getting it right,
perfectly right,
that we end up saying
nothing at all.
Despite living through a couple of sexual revolutions, many
parents are still nervous about the topic. Many of us grew up when
talking about sex (within the family) wasn’t done, so we feel we
don’t have a model to copy, or at least one that we would be happy
to repeat.
2
This is especially true for men. At least many girls got some
information about periods and babies (often from mum) but
boys (now men) often missed out on any sort of parent talk
about their bodies, sex and relationships. One thing we did
get from the sexual revolution (or from watching daytime talk
shows) is a fear about what we adults might do to a child’s
sexuality. And that’s what worries us. We can be so worried
about getting it right, perfectly right, that we end up saying
nothing at all.
You might be relieved to know that helping your child towards
a happy, healthy sexuality does not come from any One Big
Talk that you have to get perfectly scripted. You might also be
glad to know that talking with your children about sexuality will
not make them go out and do it. In fact, talking about sex with
young people has the opposite effect.1
It’s not one big talk, but lots of little conversations repeated.
