Feed Curious Minds
Curious minds lead to curious actions, which can lead to trouble for a kindergarten student. It’s hard to deny that sexual activity in teens is starting at a younger and younger age as the days go by. Children need to be educated early so if any harmful situation comes up to them such as rape, they know the difference between right and wrong. They also need to understand that there are other choices other than abstinence such as using protection.
Sex education should start as early as kindergarten for children. Just start with the basics and then as the children age through school, go through all the topics that need to be covered. Children should know the proper names for their body parts and how to have a healthy friendship, which sets them up for healthy relationships in the future. There is a belief that if young people are taught about sex, they will have sex. There is research to prove that starting earlier makes a difference. In other countries, such as the Netherlands, they have a week called “Spring Fever” where they focus on sex ed for four-year-olds.
There are many reasons that sex education should start earlier for children. Children need to learn the correct names for their body parts as well as learning the difference between someone being nice with good touch and bad touch from a possible predator. Learning these things can be build a good foundation for healthy relationships in the future. Children need to be taught these subjects early on because when they get to an age where they need to talk about it in an appropriate manner, they find those words inappropriate and may not know the proper terms for them.
In other countries, such as the Netherlands, sex education is started as early as four years-old and covers more topics as they grow. The Netherlands has one of the largest outcomes in teen sexual health. A study from Rutgers WPF found that 90% of Dutch used protection the first time and another organization found that Dutch teens are some of the top users of the birth control pill. This is proof that starting sex education earlier has a greater affect on how teens view sex and all involved in that topic. With all the information that is provided slowly throughout the years, it gives them time to process instead of it all getting slammed on them in middle school and maybe even high school. And if some don’t learn about it until high school, that might be too late with middle school students getting more and more involved in intimate relationships.
Many people fear that teaching children sex education at a young age will make them have sex, but they need to be informed with the information they need to grow into an educated and appropriate young adult. There is research that proves the students who are provided with this education are more likely to delay any sexual activity and use protection. Without this education students just learn about abstinence which can make them more curious. “Withholding information about sex and sexuality will not keep children safe; it will only keep them ignorant”. By being provided with this information, it will make them rethink what consequences there could be before they make the mistake. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
People don’t always address the fact that this is not always true. Teaching children younger will make them more aware of what could happen if they choose to have sex. This is a sharpshooter fallacy because they don’t accept the fact that younger sex education can result in a lower sexual activity rate for teens. This is a sharpshooter fallacy because they are only stating one side of the story and not providing the facts from the other side of the argument which would prove their statement wrong.
It’s clear to see that starting sex education at a younger age is effective for the children. It teaches them all the fundamentals to be healthy and have healthy relationships. So why not educate the kids while they’re young before it’s too late?
