How are parents dealing with questions about sex?

KATHMANDU, Aug 30: With the developing media culture children are no longer an exception when it comes to getting exposed to sex. Out of many responsibilities that parents have toward their children, making them aware of adopting a healthy lifestyle and imparting sex education should top the priority.



However, parents dread to answer sex queries and they often get tongue-tied and try to avoid the matter as much as possible. [break] But since it is only natural to get curious about such things, especially at a young age, parents should not be reluctant to cater to their children´s needs and should help to foster healthy feelings and attitude toward sex among the children.



Bishnu Pandey, father of three teenage children, says, "I am quite open to my children when it comes to answering their queries about sex. I know it´s a taboo subject but as I share a friendly relationship with my teenage kids, I don´t think it should be treated in a hush-hush way. I make sure that either me or my wife clarifies about the questions that the children come up and ask us." If parents are open and discuss such issues in a comfortable way, then children won´t resort to getting advice from someone else. Moreover, parents are the best teachers as they have the ability to control and shape their child´s future in a positive way.



Teenagers go through a period when their minds buzz with millions of ideas and questions regarding sex issues. They basically turn to internet and media to get information regarding sexual norms and in the process, they might get wrong ideas. Given the fact that information about sexuality is not readily available to teens, they may seek for information from something else rather than their parents. It may be hard for parents to acknowledge their children getting curious to know about sex issues but it is only natural, healthy and normal for them to get curious about their own bodies.







Santosh Bhandari, father of two children, says, "I hardly talk to my children about sex issues. It is really difficult to confront and bring upon such issues with my kids. However, I am really worried about how they perceive sex and if they are fully aware of it or not." If parents back up in dealing with such sensitive issues with their kids, then media will act as a strong source of sexual socialization for the teenagers and so the children may have a high risk of developing negative perception about sex.

Sujata Nakarmi, 18, says, "I find it very uneasy to openly talk about sex issues with my parents. We try to avoid the topic as much as possible and if it is brought up, we redirect the conversation." In such cases, many parents tend to wait for their children to ask them questions. But instead they should approach their children and impart knowledge about it deliberately in a comfortable way.



Many parents have the wrong notion that talking to their teens on such issues may prompt their children to experiment and make them fall into bad habits but that is not the case. Sanjeev Shrestha, parent of a teenage son, says, "I don´t want to put the idea of sexual issues in my son´s mind. I am afraid that he might take it in a different sense and get encouraged to experiment." But sex education does not encourage teenagers to fall in bad habits, in fact, having such awareness leads them to take up smart measures and make better decisions.



However, some parents are open about it. Parvati Aryal, mother of a teenage daughter, says, "I try to talk and make aware my daughter of sex issues because I think it is very important for her to be able to handle such issues in a smart way." I told her about physical changes and everything that she needs to know and since we share a comfortable relationship, whenever she comes up to me, I answer all her queries, says Aryal.



Sex education is crucial in order to make teenagers aware and to develop a healthy lifestyle and optimistic perception regarding sex issues. Talking about sex can be a really complicated issue for the parents to deal with. However, they should be open and honest when it comes to answering their children´s queries so that their children don´t grasp inaccurate information from the outside world. It is one of the major responsibilities of parents to develop a healthy attitude and avoid any aversions when it comes to talking about sex to their children.

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