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Although schools should do their part in educating students about health and sexuality, parents should always lead the way in teaching children. Sex can be a frightening thing for a child, especially if he or she only gets half of the information that he or she needs from an underfunded education system. In addition, learning about sexuality from parents helps to foster stronger, more open lines of communication between parents and children.

In order for parents to have open communication with their children regarding health and sexuality, parents must be patient and loving with their children. Children ask a lot of questions sometimes, and it helps for parents to be able to address their questions (and sometimes fears) in a patient manner. Parents also need to read up on health and sexuality so that they can answer their children's questions and educate their children in a way that is both informative and authoritative.

One should not wait until a child has questions to begin teaching him or her about health and sexuality. Information about inappropriate touching should be given when teaching a child about his or her body parts. If parents have friends of varying sexual preferences, it will probably be easier for them to teach their children about different sexual preferences and their level of appropriateness. While people with some beliefs may feel that homosexuality is wrong, they must teach their children to treat others with respect and courtesy, no matter what they believe or with whom they have romantic relationships.

Parents have fantastic opportunities to teach their children about respect and tolerance for all sexual preferences and beliefs. If parents wait for schools to teach their children about health and sexuality, children are more likely to be afraid to approach their parents regarding sexual matters, and they may get misinformation from their friends. If parents lead the way in teaching their children about health and sexuality, including homosexuality, they can do much to assure that their children are well-informed, and it is more likely that those children will feel comfortable talking to their parents about sexual concerns and their own sexual preferences. It is crucial that education about health and sexuality to be disseminated in such a way that children grow up to be informed people who treat people with diverse preferences with courtesy rather than fear.

Learn more about this author, Rebecca Oaks.
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