To be sure, we must all experience sexual consciousness and development in a specific period of life, and experience the process of its change. However, we don't know when and how sexual desire will appear. When we are young or even old, we are influenced by some ideas, ideals and values, which weakens our ability to deal with sexual problems in life. As an adolescent health educator, this paper summarizes several common misunderstandings and their negative effects in adolescent sex education.
1, oh, are you impulsive? This is only temporary. It will pass.
This statement may be true, but it is a bit secretive. Only recognize the effect, not seriously. The arrival of adolescence brings not only physical and mental changes, but also emotional changes that can drive adults crazy. Emotion is very important to young people. Adolescents are more and more eager for love, and they like to make friends together.
Johns Hopkins once published a famous book called "The Trouble of Adolescence", aiming at reminding adults to know more about the growth and changes of adolescence and how to deal with these changes in time. Adults often think that "children don't know what love is" or don't know intimate relationships. Of course, I won't say that 13 has the same emotional depth as 30, but it must be remembered that everyone is expressing and experiencing their truest feelings.
This statement should not be advocated, because good relationships established during adolescence can be used as communication methods, tools and opportunities to help adults lead young people, share life values and make careful choices.
2. Sex education, including condom instruction and demonstration, will lead to premature sexual behavior among young people. This is why teenagers have sex at a younger age in recent years.
This statement is the most dangerous. We must face the simplest fact: Are all human beings monkeys? Today, we have learned to acquire knowledge through observation, oral communication and the guidance of our predecessors. The education we need includes demonstration, logical reasoning and critical thinking. Experiential learning is also very important, but we are smart enough, and we don't necessarily need to experience it if we have enough observation and education.
We use "role playing" in safety education, why not use it in sex education? Practice, education and teaching in appropriate places can cultivate teenagers' sense of responsibility and prevent bad consequences. This is not just hope, but fact. By providing adolescents with comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education and giving them support, they will grow into sexually capable adults and be satisfied with their lives and their choices.
If this misunderstanding is publicized at school or at home, it will inevitably lead to premature sexual behavior and sexual partners of teenagers. This statement is like a banner for abstinence supporters, who think that sex education is limited to parents and children. Simply put, it's completely wrong, and it's a rumor of a timid person. A lot of evidence shows that sex education and sexual knowledge are related to delaying the age of young people's sexual behavior.
Young people don't have the ability to be responsible, so they can't have safe sex or try their own sex.
People will definitely mention this when talking about sex education. We can discuss this problem in class and encourage young people to think about it, but it is always our adult's responsibility to protect and prevent young people's sexual behavior. This is for their sake. They are immature and not ready. If it happens, they will not use contraception.
First of all, I object that parents only pay attention to contraception. Of course, contraception is also important. However, you should know that young people only account for 20% of the sexually active population in the United States, but they account for more than half of sexually transmitted diseases. Moreover, we regard unplanned pregnancy as a bad consequence of sexual behavior and exclude GLBT people (GLBT: gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender). Let's go back to meaningful sex education, not only to teach young people how to be safe (use condoms), but also to teach them why to do so (protect themselves and their sexual partners from sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy).
4, 18 years old.
This concept reminds me of Millie Vasconcelos, a famous person my age a few years ago. She has a countdown website for 18 years old. Only when she 18, the adults who covet her can regard her as the dream lover. Of course, the blink is real, and the countdown is fake. However, the idea that 18 years old can have sex is deeply rooted.
There are countless controversies about this thorny concept: whether young people can be exposed to pornography, whether they can use sexual AIDS, and when they should start having sex. No matter what our position is, we should remember that sexual desire has existed since the first day of human birth and is hereditary. From infancy, toddler to first date, we experienced many important moments of sexual development before growing up.
Another problem is that if we ignore the social attributes of human beings and simplify sex to the point of animal attributes, we will miss many other things, such as self-image, understanding gender roles/expectations, gender language, not to mention media literacy. The conservative and restrictive attitude towards young people's sexual behavior will make them think that sex is bad and dirty. In that case, this part of human life can only be hidden in the snow. What I want to say is that the more sex our social culture involves, the more complicated it becomes.
You will understand when you grow up.
Let's keep the previous statement-young people ask questions, and adults just pat their foreheads and smile and answer them. In addition, this word tells children: don't talk about sex, I (as an adult in your life) won't talk about it with you publicly, and you won't understand. Children are very smart, they will grasp sensitive things to learn, and will not bring problems and troubles to adults, and gradually form the concept that sex is "bad".
If young people throw such questions at you, the best way is to regard it as an opportunity for timely sex education and information. Dr Logan vividly recorded her communication with her 5-year-old son. Instead of urging him to go to bed, she met him face to face, answered questions and inspired the child to think.
6. Children need fairy tales.
The topic of sex is too serious for children to understand. I want to break the record. The key is to know how to conduct sex education and seize the right opportunity to involve children. Think about it. In order to train children to urinate and teach them physical functions, have we given them enough knowledge when puberty comes?
I can talk about my first menstrual cramp. At that time I left home to attend a summer camp. A few months after the cramp, I was terrified and convinced that I had cancer. I knew what menstruation was like at that time, but it was another matter to experience it personally. Fortunately, the girl counselor helped me a lot, and it took me months to explain it to my mother, but it affected me.
This matter has been bothering me for a long time. Why? Simple explanation and understanding solved the problem, and saved me several months to check my mother's medical books, trying to find out the type of tumor I was "suffering from". On the bright side, I spent a lot of time reading medical books in middle school, although not everyone likes such a nerd.
7. You can't learn condoms. You must hide them until you need them.
How do you know they need it? Young people will come to you safely and ask if you want it. Do they know they need this? This question is too evasive: if you hide and take it out when they need it, it means that young people don't know how to ask you and won't ask you when they need it.
This is not a question of "assuming" that they need it or not. In fact, condom sex education delayed the average age of sexual behavior (supported by relevant research results). I like to use condoms as other household items in the medicine box. We educate children to stay away from bottles, jars and cabinets until they understand that condoms have the same effect.
Teenagers (like pregnant women) have too many hormones, and what they care about most is sex.
If we talk to children about sex, teach them how to use condoms and provide condoms whenever they need them, they will have sex like rabbits, get pregnant, drop out of school and never call home again.
What we need to do is, through comprehensive and age-appropriate sex education, let children establish a clear concept of being responsible for their own bodies and gradually understand sex-related choices. I know it's hard to talk about sex. Adults and children need courage. If you don't want to be frustrated soon, you can watch the short film "Let's talk about sex". You can see the interesting ways of sex education for American teenagers and the rates of unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in Europe. Now this movie can be watched on Netflix. Supplement: Many pregnancy prevention and sex education institutions downloaded this film as a teaching material and entered the community.
Another problem with this statement is that you must be careful when the baby enters adolescence. When girls grow up, their performance will make you depressed. They are irritable, emotional and nervous. How does this misunderstanding treat women? What do we expect from them? How does this attitude reflect the fear of adults? If you haven't seen the spokeswoman, now is the time. There are many wonderful interviews about the influence of social and external pressure on women.
In a word, I don't think these statements are groundless or the solution is as simple as reconstructing these misunderstandings. However, we need to find a starting point and a better way instead of blindly controlling energetic young people. We should make progress, believe in the ability of young people and encourage them.