It is interesting to know that sex education is one of the things many parents take seriously in the world today, there was a time when a lot of people didn't find it relevant and the consequences are part of what the world is struggling with today. Despite taking it seriously in this age we live, many parents are still making a common mistake which in the long run will make it look like sex education isn't taught at all.
My first encounter with this common mistake happened when I was in JSS 2, I was very young but still remembered every detail from that day. A discussion came up during a home economics class and the teacher told all the male students to leave the class while she explained something to the girls, we (the boys) were curious about what she was teaching and it took the intervention of the proprietor to get us back into the class.
Curiousity is one of the driving force that pushes children and even adults to try something new. It is can be good and also disastrous when children embark on a mission to discover things they shouldn't without the help of a responsible adult.
Too bad, she didn't continue the discussion just because she thought it wasn't something the boys should know about. Somehow, some of the girls leaked the discussion to us and it has to do with sex education.
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Sex education is a broad study and every gender needs the lessons, focusing on one gender is like clipping the wing of a bird and telling it to fly with one. There is more to it than just sexual activity, safe sex and others but these things are very important for every gender to know about when they reach the age we think it's okay to talk about it.
The common mistake parents make is leaving their male children out when it has to do with sex education, many of them feel like the female children need it more which is a wrong ideology.
Sexual activity requires both genders so imagine when one gender lacks sex education, what should we expect?
A partial impact of sex education in the society is what we will see because the males that are left out will some how influence the females who were taught, some female will be able to resist while some won't and all they were taught will eventually be a waste.
I think before we can see the results of proper sex education in the world, the male gender needs to be taught thoroughly as well. Have you imagined why unwanted pregnancy is still a trend? That's the consequence of leaving male children out of sex education.
I grew up in an environment where male children were allowed to stay out till late at night while the female children were locked in the house even before night fell. That was one of the measures parents took to protect their female children but it didn't make a difference because while they were paying attention to just the female children, the male were getting exposed to things that put them a step ahead of their parents. Despite the protection, unwanted pregnancy was flying everywhere and this could have been avoided if both genders were handled properly.
We hear about rape cases every day, how many times have we heard that a female raped a male? Many of the culprits lack sexual education and it's one of the reasons why they force their sexual cravings on the opposite gender.
I have a neighbour who has two daughters and a son, their father is very strict with sex education when it comes to the girls but his son, he is fond of saying that he is a man and can do as he wishes.
The boy is doing as he wishes truly and I am always shocked when he speaks about girls, he is just fifteen and I wonder what the coming years will look like as he becomes an adult.
It's not the first time I have heard parents say these things and if they know the consequences of their actions, they will put an end to that immediately. To create a balance with the results we expect from teaching sex education, both male and female children must be taught.
My mom never had a female child and yet, she took sex education very important for us. It's high time parents start involving their male children in sex education because that's the only way to strike the balance.