Whenever the parents or teachers think of talking about sex education to their children, it is necessary to know that they must be appropriate to their age. This is when one usually gets confused about. We are not sure of what are the age appropriate sex education contents. For example, one might have noticed that our children ask how the baby is born. This does not mean that they want to know about the act of sex or the about the entire things involved in pregnancy. The following is a synopsis of what the children should know, when they attain a specific age:

Infants: 0 – 2 years – It is in this age that the child starts talking small-small words. In this stage, it is necessary to teach them to name their own body parts that include their genitals as well.

Early childhood: 2 – 5 years – Children of this are generally able to differentiate between a boy and a girl. The very basic knowledge of reproduction should be given to the children as to both man and woman is involved in giving birth to a baby and the baby grows in the woman’s uterus. Apart from this, children of this age should be given knowledge about their private parts and what they should do, if others touch them.

Middle & Late Childhood: 5 – 10 years – Children of this age should first learn to identify the different relationships and the role of each relationship in their life; especially the marriage relationship, the legal separation and other civil partnerships. They should also be taught about the simple changes that can happen in their body, their feelings and the attitudes.

Early Adolescence: 10 – 15 years – Children of this age would generally be fascinated about their body, appearance and more importantly, sex. Such fascination should be converted to knowledge in terms of understanding important terms related to adolescence such as puberty, menstruation, types of sexuality (homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual), transgender, etc. More importantly, they should be taught of the role of sexual intercourse in the reproduction process along with the social conventions followed in the Indian society. They should also be taught about the need of having a positive and legal relationship.

Late Adolescence: 15 – 18 years – Teenagers of this age usually prefer to have their private space. The thought clashes usually are high in these years between the parents and children. If the parents had maintained a positive relationship with the children with proper sex education, they are high possibilities that the teenagers in this age might share all their life experiences. So, in these years, it is necessary to talk more about their career, their friends, portray of teenagers in the media, etc.

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