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Monday 8 August 2011

Sex education lessons at age eight?

Parents believe children should be given sex education lessons as young as eight, new figures have revealed. The survey by Netmums parenting website found that almost half (49.2 per cent) of respondents said that lessons about sex and relationships should begin between the ages of eight and 12, while a further 30.5 per cent felt that lessons should begin between the ages of 12 to 15. Just one in seven parents said that pupils should start learning between five and eight, while 4.1 per cent felt that under-fives should be given classes.

In May, we reported that another poll by BabyChild website found that 59 per cent of parents oppose sex education for children. At the time, the BabyChild survey of 1,700 UK parents of five to 11 year olds found that 41 per cent were against the idea as it was "inappropriate to teach children about sex", while 28 per cent said "it should be the parent's choice to teach their own child". 27 per cent said "there is no need for children to know about sex" and 22 per cent believed "the lessons may encourage children to ask more about sexuality and sex". 69.7 per cent of respondents in the Netmums survey did not think children would become more sexually active at a younger age by having sex education lessons.

The Netmums figures form part of a larger poll on what parents want to see in their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) lessons.

"The general consensus is that parents feel children should be learning about important issues at a young age and that they should be taught by experts in these areas," said Netmums co-founder Siobhan Freegard. "Not only do parents want topics such as safety, sex and bullying addressed, but also 'modern' issues such as gender identity and coping with loss."

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