Parents play key role in kids' sex education

It is wonderful that there is a more expansive understanding of "success" - one not limited to intelligence quotient, but also including emotional quotient and resilience quotient - and that parents are encouraged to identify and help their children to excel in their unique intelligences ("Teach your children well"; July 11).

In line with the goal of developing children more holistically, it is also essential for parents to guide and support their children well in the area of sexuality.

A recent Touch Cyber Wellness survey found that nine in every 10 teenage boys viewed pornographic material within the past year, with the earliest age of exposure being upper primary and below ("Nine in 10 teen boys exposed to porn: Survey"; June 29).

This is worrying.

When discussing the role of parents in addressing the issue of pornography with their children, Mr Delane Lim, chief executive of Agape Group Holdings, in the article, said that some parents may not have the moral authority to do so effectively because they are watching pornography themselves - and their children are aware of this.

Indeed, it would be more difficult to convince these teens of the harmful effects of pornography because they know their parents are also watching it.

All of this underscores the urgent need for parents to be committed to healthy habits in the area of their sexuality. If parents do not first do so themselves, they do not have any authority or credibility to tell their children to do the same.

Parents are a major, indispensable component of sexuality education, and must be role models who actively and consistently live out what healthy sexuality looks like, with wholesome habits that their children can learn from.

Perhaps there is also a need to include within the definition of our children's "success" the ability to excel in sexually healthy mindsets and behaviour - which will, in turn, enable them to have respectful and wholesome interpersonal relationships, whether platonic or romantic.

Zhang Jieqiang

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