VALUE YOUR VOTE 2017: Sex Education In Schools

Parents have been horrified at groups coming in to schools and undermining the role and values of parents with sex education resources targeted at children as young as five which fail to take into account the emotional and physical development of each child and the values of the family. The government is currently pursuing and promoting a curriculum where children are given dangerous messages that they’re sexual from birth, that the proper time for sexual activity is when they feel ready, and that they have rights to pleasure, birth control, and abortion. Most schools, along with parents in that school community, are rejecting the extreme elements of the new sexuality education guidelines released at the end of 2015, including ‘gender identity’ ideology. In a poll released earlier this year, almost 4 out of 5 parents said they were confident of their ability to teach their own children about sex and sexuality issues, and 2/3’rds believed that parents should be determining any school-based teaching, not the government or groups such as Family Planning and Rainbow Youth. Studies show that the biggest protective factors for coping with puberty and sexual involvement are family values, parental supervision, and parental expectations for behaviour. What happens at home is the greatest determinant of the outcomes for the young person. Parents can feel overawed by this issue and the need for ‘the sex talk’, so resources should be put into giving them the confidence to educate their children.
READ MORE: www.JustTheFacts.org.nz