When is the right time to talk to kids about sex?

I have been thinking about this question a lot since attending a workshop on kids TV programmes, which had the objective of ‘finding ways to entertain yet educate children through T.V. Now at the beginning of the workshop we talked about key words that shape up the world of children, and when it came to the age group for 12-15, someone in the room mentioned sexuality and sex being important...which prompted the funniest gasps in the room!

I swear it was like someone had just committed blasphemy of the highest order! One of my colleagues actually remarked that we have no business making sex a part of the world of a 12-15 yr old child. 

I have no children but I do have a twelve year old sister, a beautiful sister who I know looks up to her older sisters and one I work hard to have an open relationship with. Just interacting with my sister and laughing, joking around with her, makes me appreciate how intelligent she is and how she is not blind to things like sexuality or sex. My sister is a ‘tween’ basically a girl knocking at adolescence door.  She is at the stage in her life where family and friends influence her outlook, individuality and understanding of certain things. She is also a part of a generation that has easy access to internet.

That being said, I think it’s almost naive to think that a 12-15 year old person has never heard about sex. In some cases some 12-15 year olds have already began experimenting with sex. The thing is how many of them really understand what kind of responsibility comes with having sex, especially because some adults will not talk about it openly its totally taboo. I understand it’s a way of protecting our children but actually what are we protecting them from?

 
Children of this era in my opinion (and I am in my twenties) are growing up faster and are faced with adult concerns a lot earlier than even my generation were...they don’t play outside like we did they play on the internet and communicate almost always through phones. They have access to information, all kinds of information including inaccurate information. Should we not be more concerned about making sure that they have all the facts they need and are able to feel comfortable and free enough to ask question of us adults because we have more practical experience, even were the questions asked put us in rather uncomfortable situations.

The bottom line for me I think is that its time to give credit to the children around us, to understand that they are far more aware of the world then we give them credit for...and we aren’t ruining their childhood by allowing them to ask questions about sex, the changes in their bodies, hormones or sexuality...

Just a Random thought!