Parents' Plans to Discuss Sexuality with Their Young Children

Abstract

Two hundred and fourteen (214) parents of young children (M age = 6.75 years) were surveyed about their plans for sexuality discussions with their children. Parents were asked to indicate when they would first discuss sex education with their children for 15 specific topics, how effective they perceived themselves to be at discussing each topic, and to describe their experiences receiving sex education from their own parents. Parents reported being educated mostly by their mothers and rated both of their parents as ineffective educators. Compared to a similar survey of parents conducted in 1982, parents in the current study intended to discuss sexual abuse at an earlier age but to delay discussing genital differences, birth, and reproduction. Compared to fathers, mothers intended to discuss sexuality at earlier ages and anticipated being more effective. Intended age of discussion differed between ethnic groups and between parents who described themselves as being religious versus not religious. Parents' intentions to discuss varied between sons and daughters for certain topics, and there were two topics that a considerable number of parents did not intend to discuss with their children (i.e., masturbation and nocturnal emissions). Suggestions for helping parents communicate more comfortably with their young children about sexuality topics are offered.

Latino Parents' Plans to Communicate About Sexuality With their Children

“…This study surveyed 86 Latino parents regarding their own family experiences with sexual discussions during childhood as well as their actual or intended plans for discussing sexuality-related topics with their young children. Comparisons were made between Latino parents and a sample of Caucasian parents from the study by El-Shaieb and Wurtele (2009).…”

“…To address this need, El-Shaieb and Wurtele (2009) surveyed 214 primarily Caucasian parents regarding intentions to educate their young children (age: M = 6.75 years) about 15 aspects of human sexuality. As predicted, participants intended to discuss sexual abuse much earlier than parents in a similar survey of parents of children between ages 5 and 7 years conducted in the early 1980s (Koblinsky & Atkinson, 1982).…”

Racial and/or Ethnic Differences in Formal Sex Education and Sex Education by Parents among Young Women in the United States

“…[22][23] Research regarding sex education discussion among Hispanic families has focused on cultural taboos about discussing sexuality; however, our research suggests that discussion about STIs, at least, may be happening more frequently among Hispanic families than white families. 24 Additional research regarding sex education by parents is needed to better understand the difference in reported receipt of various sex education topics.…”

“When You’re a Baby You Don’t Have Puberty”: Understanding of Puberty and Human Reproduction in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

“…Indeed, both experts (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001) and parents themselves (KRC Research & Consulting, 1991b) believe that parents should be children’s first sexual education teachers before they receive formal education in schools. Accordingly, some parents begin teaching their children about topics such as menarche and sexual intercourse as young as age 2 (Haglund, 2006), with most parents believing such conversations should be initiated around age 9 (El-Shaieb & Wurtele, 2009; Haglund, 2006). Nonetheless, many parents feel uncomfortable talking to their children about reproductive health, which may in part be attributable to parents themselves not being confident in their own reproductive health knowledge (Fisher, 1986; UNESCO, 2009), and which may limit their effectiveness as sexual health educators (El-Shaieb & Wurtele, 2009).…”