With all the negative outcomes regarding promiscuous sexuality, it is especially important that our pre-teens and teenagers be properly educated about the dangers involved. But it\u2019s difficult talking to your kids about sex. That\u2019s why many parents today leave the sexual education of their children to the schools. Because it\u2019s difficult (and it is<\/em> difficult talking about sex to your kids), it\u2019s easy to justify putting it aside until it\u2019s too late. But because it\u2019s tough is precisely why it\u2019s our duty as a parent to teach our sons and daughters about the value of healthy sexuality.<\/p>\n The problem with allowing others\u2014like public schools\u2014to sexually educate our children is that their values may not correspond with ours. Currently the most popular sex education program in public school districts across the country is called \u201cComprehensive Sex Education.\u201d Abstinence training has fallen out of favor with the current administration taking over federal funding, and groups like Planned Parenthood have eagerly stepped in to fill the gap. The term \u201cComprehensive\u201d would appear to indicate that it covers all<\/em> aspects of sex education, including abstinence.\u00a0 The problem with their philosophy is that even the way they teach abstinence is probably shocking to most parents. One of the more popular curriculums of comprehensive sex education teaches abstinence by having small co-ed groups of sixth to eighth graders get together and study a list of sexual behaviors such as anal intercourse, mutual masturbation, and oral sex to determine a consensus on what they<\/em> (the young people) consider to be abstinence. It seems very embarrassing and humiliating for a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl to have to discuss these kinds of activities with a group of boys. Most parents I know wouldn\u2019t want their young sons talking about that kind of stuff with girls either.<\/p>\n Another aspect to this program is having students explore the benefits of \u201cOutercourse.\u201d This teaches students who want to engage in abstinence to discover the sexual pleasures associated with sexual intercourse without actually engaging in penetration. Their rationale is stated as such: \u201cWhen young people are making decisions about abstinence, it is important for them to consider not just what their abstinence definition prohibits<\/strong> them from doing, but also what it permits<\/strong>.\u00a0.\u00a0.\u00a0. when outercourse<\/strong> is considered consistent with a person\u2019s own definition of abstinence, most<\/strong> of the pleasures of sexual intercourse are possible, and much safer\u201d [bold print is in original material].<\/p>\n I am a huge believer in the value of education, and I don\u2019t believe that abstinence is the only<\/em> aspect of sex ed we should teach our kids. \u00a0But what in the world are supposedly intelligent adults teaching our children?<\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t particularly comfortable talking about sex to my son, much less my daughter. But if you start early and can become comfortable discussing these issues before puberty sets in, you\u2019re probably the best person to introduce him or her to a subject that can be either a friend or a foe throughout their lifetime. Your children will <\/em>go through puberty and they will<\/em> have many questions. Wouldn\u2019t you rather they get the answers to those questions from you than from their friends down the street\u2014or worse yet, from the entertainment industry (or maybe even the public education system)? Talking about sex early and often while your children are growing up gets them comfortable communicating with you about it when it really counts\u2014when they get to be teenagers.<\/p>\n In order to be able to discuss openly with your son a healthy vision for masculine sexuality, or your daughter a vision of healthy femininity, you\u2019ll have to develop a strong relationship. This will require you<\/em> reaching out and making the effort to foster a closer relationship. Your son or daughter probably won\u2019t come to you and initiate discussions about sex.<\/p>\n As a parent, your wisdom and life experience are the most valuable contributions you can pass on to your children. The mistakes you\u2019ve made in this area can help keep your son (or daughter) from making the same mistakes\u2014but not if you don\u2019t share them.<\/p>\n Question:\u00a0 What is your strategy to teach your children about healthy sexuality?<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n (Excerpted from Rick\u2019s book, That\u2019s My Teenage Son<\/em>, by Revell Publishing, 2011), www.betterdads.net<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With all the negative outcomes regarding promiscuous sexuality, it is especially important that our pre-teens and teenagers be properly educated about the dangers involved. But it\u2019s difficult talking to your kids about sex. That\u2019s why many parents today leave the sexual education of their children to the schools. Because it\u2019s difficult (and it is difficult […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1113,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,16,39],"tags":[11,42,5,58,59,13,28,7,201,14],"class_list":["post-1696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting","category-sex","category-youth-culture","tag-boys","tag-character","tag-childhood","tag-dads","tag-daughters","tag-fathers","tag-males","tag-men","tag-parenting","tag-sons"],"yoast_head":"\n