How do I teach my kids about sexual health without encouraging them to sin?
How do I teach my children about sexual health without encouraging them to sin?
I know a lot of parents are wondering the same thing.
First of all, your question makes me wonder about how you're defining sexual health. And a lot of us think that sexual health only refers to sex and intimacy, and we know that that's not true.
Whether or not we are religious or not, it's important to understand that we have sexual health from birth to death, that God created us with our body parts when we're born and they grow and develop with us as we grow and develop mentally, physically, spiritually and sexually.
So if you're a parent wondering how to have these conversations, I want to encourage you first to reflect on what is your understanding of sexual health and to try and expand that knowledge beyond what you've been taught to address any fear or shame within yourself, then it's really important to learn about child development and to understand the conversations about sexual health are really small talks that happen often.
It's not about one big talk when your child is ready, so teaching them about their body parts when they're younger, when they're potty training, when you're teaching them how to dress, how to wash themselves, how to bathe, how to navigate friendships, how to say no to different types of touches that they don't want because they're not comfortable.
This is all sexual health for children, and that grows and develops as they grow and develop, such as when they approach puberty, when they're navigating online pressures, for example.
So it's really important that you, as parents broaden your understanding of sexual health, grounded in your religious and family values, and then learn about child development to have many small conversations about sexual health over the lifespan of your child.
I know a lot of parents are wondering the same thing.
First of all, your question makes me wonder about how you're defining sexual health. And a lot of us think that sexual health only refers to sex and intimacy, and we know that that's not true.
Whether or not we are religious or not, it's important to understand that we have sexual health from birth to death, that God created us with our body parts when we're born and they grow and develop with us as we grow and develop mentally, physically, spiritually and sexually.
So if you're a parent wondering how to have these conversations, I want to encourage you first to reflect on what is your understanding of sexual health and to try and expand that knowledge beyond what you've been taught to address any fear or shame within yourself, then it's really important to learn about child development and to understand the conversations about sexual health are really small talks that happen often.
It's not about one big talk when your child is ready, so teaching them about their body parts when they're younger, when they're potty training, when you're teaching them how to dress, how to wash themselves, how to bathe, how to navigate friendships, how to say no to different types of touches that they don't want because they're not comfortable.
This is all sexual health for children, and that grows and develops as they grow and develop, such as when they approach puberty, when they're navigating online pressures, for example.
So it's really important that you, as parents broaden your understanding of sexual health, grounded in your religious and family values, and then learn about child development to have many small conversations about sexual health over the lifespan of your child.
Sameera Qureshi
Sexual Health Expert
