New sex-ed curriculum needs parents involvement

by David Dyck

 

The Internet and growing tolerance both have their part in the creation of the new sex education curriculum, but parents also have been part of its advent.

According to professors and social workers, the need for parents to step up their game in the education of their children runs high in the 21^st century. The fallacies of children’s current sexual knowledge and access to it have to be counteracted. According to them, the new curriculum will fill gaps left by parents.

So says Kathryn Markham-Petro, a St. Clair College professor of Early Childhood Education. She said it’s perfectly understandable to want to protect your children from certain information, but that sooner or later, reality has to be faced. Some knowledge cannot be avoided.

“A lot of people don’t understand the Internet, though they allow their kids full access to it,” said Markham-Petro. “Then they are completely shocked when they go on and ‘oh my God, my kids have discovered porn!’ Well, of course they have, it’s so easily accessible.”

It does not have to be reached intentionally either. Markham-Petro told of another St. Clair ECE worker who typed in “toys” on Google. What she received was not what she had expected. Kids may naturally have their interests piqued.

This is something no amount of evading by parents will help make disappear. Tina Gatt, a social worker for the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society, said the more parents say “don’t look in that cupboard” the more interest they will provoke. Instead, she said moments with your children should be taken advantage of.

“Every minute of the day, every time we’re with our kids there are teachable moments. Whether it’s around sex education, around war or terrorism… we need to create opportunities for learning,” said Gatt.

“Knowledge is power,” Gat said. “At some point, they’re going to need to have that information.”

 

That doesn’t apply to just children either. Markham-Petro said the new curriculum may force parents to keep up with what their children are learning and require diligence. A keen understanding of everything kids may be exposed to every day as well what was taught every day at school, which Markham-Petro said applies to every subject, whether it be sex, geography or math. The curriculum is reacting towards changes in the sexual landscape and both Gatt and Markham-Petro said parents must keep current.

New attitudes towards sexuality and gender identities may put off some parents who wish to instill certain values in their kids. Markham-Petro said she believes the material should be judgement-free. Gatt also said the material will be discussed honestly as possible.

Yet parents may be surprised by the subtle growth of impartiality they may have developed themselves. Dr. Mohammed Howidi, a Windsor pediatrician for over 20 years, said he believes he may be more lenient in the things his kids are exposed to than his own parents were with him. Society is going somewhere and he said he’ll have to wait and see just where.

Markham-Petro agrees and said kids are still kids but their environments have changed.

“When you look at the toys and clothes that are available, kids are becoming more sexualized… the extent of marketing, all of those things have changed. Probably the most sexualized thing I had access to was Barbie,” said Markham-Petro.

“This has made kids far more open to the topic of sex and even comfortable with it,” Markham-Petro said. According to her, they will have to talk about it with somebody.

This could spark competition between parents and teachers. With parents possibly being out of the loop, children may turn to their teachers for guidance. Plus, with children all reaching sexual levels at different ages and becoming self-conscious about their sexual maturity under and over other peers, this may require teachers to become very perceptive, said Gat. Both parents and teachers will have to grow very close to their children and even to each other. It may have to be a team effort, But will definitely have to involve everyone.

“Parents need to educate themselves more and ask their kids more, ‘What are you looking at?’” said Gat, to counteract the generation gap that could increase with this new curriculum. “Sex sells everything. How can you ignore this? If you are going to tune your kids out, they’re going to tune us out.”