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Sex Education

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    #62
    LittleBook
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,716 ✭✭✭LittleBook


    kunst nugget wrote: »
    Considering we have the lowest level of teen pregnancies since 1966 according to the CSO figures, they seem to be processing the information pretty well by the looks of it.

    The IFPA was established in 1969. They had to "sidestep the law" to provide contraception, but they managed it. Contraception wasn't even legalised until 1979 and that was only for married couples.
    kunst nugget wrote: »
    A 44% decrease in teen pregnancies over the last 10 years or so is pretty impressive though.

    Condoms have only been widely available since the early 90s without prescription. Factor in a few years that it takes for the sale/purchase to become normalised and I'm guessing that explains that.

    Both of these initiatives were blocked as much as possible by the Irish State. It was up to independent groups/businesses to challenge and push the governments to change the laws.

    So I shudder when I read that "Minister for Health James Reilly has said the Health Service Executive is looking into teenage website SpunOut.ie after it published an article on sexual activity". :rolleyes:

    History of Sexual Health in Ireland


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    #63
    wolfpawnat
    Registered Users Posts: 6,124 ✭✭✭wolfpawnat


    I am shocked and appalled that the most prime function of our species (an indeed every other one) is still so taboo in the eyes of so many. Sex is happening younger and younger, the MAP is now available to 11 year olds. So what does this tell us? We need to educate at least 11 year olds up about SAFE sex! Is it young, well when I was 11, we for the most part knew nothing, but the internet was a luxury back then many could not afford and magazines were sensationalist.

    It is biology, men have penis's, women have vagina's. There are STD's and STI's, they are transmitted sexually. Unprotected, and on many occasions protected sex, can lead to pregnancy. Where the hell is the OMG factor in that?

    My four year old walked in on me getting changed a few weeks ago, he informed me my bump was a baby, the next thing he did was pointed to my breasts and as though telling me the weather outside informed me, "and those are the baby's milk" I stood staring at him for a few moments shocked. I only learnt what breasts were for when I was a teenager, about 14! My 4 year old is better informed than I was a decade older than him!!! I dunno where he heard/saw it, but I told him he was right.

    When teaching him to pee standing I told him to go to his daddy, he asked why, I told him that boys are different to girls and we cannot pee standing. I knew NONE of this at 3/4. It is not too young, it is 100% fact and science.

    When I was in the Science Museum in London there is an area put a side for this in the kids section, there was a father in there with his 8-10 year old son explaining it all, the boy just turned around and said "is that it?" completely unimpressed by the biological diagrams in from of him.

    That site is providing teens with accurate info that they may not want to discuss with their parents or are too embarrassed to ask in school, etc. Leaving it to parents alone is a terrible idea, some are dismissive or feel that "the younger you teach them, the younger they will do it"

    Has anyone here ever looked around the maternity waiting area or ward after they had their children? It is scary the young girls you find, some genuinely thought you could wash semen out of you, or that if you breastfed, you weren't going to get pregnant again. There was one girl near me and she was barely 15 years old with a baby all because she had no idea that she could choose a contraception rather than let her bf go bareback because he didn't like condoms.

    I knew nearly nothing but biology and home ec level stuff until I started googling myself when I got my own laptop in college at 18/19!!!! and dear God I am only still learning what some terms mean in my mid 20's and pregnant with child no2.

    It needs to be a 3 prong approach, school, home and the HSE/gov via good informative sites like that one that they are now going to stop funding because the Holy Mary brigade want us kept in the 1950's! We must be the laughing stock of the Western World!


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    #64
    kunst nugget
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭kunst nugget


    LittleBook wrote: »
    The IFPA was established in 1969. They had to "sidestep the law" to provide contraception, but they managed it. Contraception wasn't even legalised until 1979 and that was only for married couples.

    Condoms have only been widely available since the early 90s without prescription. Factor in a few years that it takes for the sale/purchase to become normalised and I'm guessing that explains that.

    That wouldn't explain the same drop happening across the pond:

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9111408/Teen-pregnancies-at-lowest-level-since-1960s.html

    Edit: not as dramatic a drop as Ireland


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    #65
    meeeeh
    Registered Users Posts: 11,624 ✭✭✭✭meeeeh


    I didn't grow up in Ireland but still in not very liberal society. I remember when we were seven or eight the teacher passed around drawings of man and woman under the sheets and said that babies are born after mummy and daddy love each other. I remember I was sitting besides class bad boy (I was the good girl and the teacher thought I'll keep him quiet) and he turned to me and said: 'they were having sex' and we both giggled. I had some info and some miss-conceptions about sex at that stage. One being that sperm is like champagne (thanks to my two porn watching friends). We actually didn't know much but we knew something even when we were very young. And I think that in that regard internet is very beneficial to youngsters today because you can search for your information. Not many of us would ask parents awkward questions. We had proper sex ed when we were 11 or 12 and it was done by a doctor and by school psychologist who explained technicalities but there was no big drama around it. Those of us growing up in eighties and early nineties didn't have internet porn but there was actually more nudity and sex in movies and magazines so I really don't think that children today are worse off. At least they can goggle accurate information too and not just think that sperm is like sparkling wine.

    Edit: I just saw what Wolfpawnut wrote. How the hell can so much be kept away from children? And I actually don't think that much time has to be spent on sex ed. Couple of hours of good quality education and some literature should be enough. it's not exactly rocket science either.


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    #66
    LittleBook
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,716 ✭✭✭LittleBook


    kunst nugget wrote: »
    That wouldn't explain the same drop happening across the pond

    Well no, I thought you were talking about Ireland.

    But there has been a similar drop in teen pregnancies in the US to the UK which is probably due to similar factors in both countries ... better sex education, better contraception and access to abortion.


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    #67
    kunst nugget
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10,375 ✭✭✭✭kunst nugget


    I think better sex education and access to information would be the big factor tbh. The big stumbling block though is the rise in STIs. I think parent's need to talk these issues through with their kids no matter how uncomfortable it makes them feel.


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    #68
    wolfpawnat
    Registered Users Posts: 6,124 ✭✭✭wolfpawnat


    meeeeh wrote: »
    Edit: I just saw what Wolfpawnut wrote. How the hell can so much be kept away from children? And I actually don't think that much time has to be spent on sex ed. Couple of hours of good quality education and some literature should be enough. it's not exactly rocket science either.

    A few hours, the older they get, the more you can add. Basics at first and add to it.

    I don't know how they kept so much from us all. Until recently a 15 year old would not have been able to get the pill, the injection or the bar without parental consent. And rather than ensure their daughter's safe sex, many parents would ground her and she would do the deed some time herself anyway, but condoms and klutzy teenagers are a dangerous! Hell I was 25 and careful and the damn thing didn't work! My 16 year old brother nearly died when he made a comment about me using a condom and I said I did and sure they are not 100% effective. That was only a few months ago, my father and his wife feel it is better to leave it a little longer, he has been coming to me for the girl info, and his uncle who is only a few years older than him for the other stuff.


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    #69
    meeeeh
    Registered Users Posts: 11,624 ✭✭✭✭meeeeh


    LittleBook wrote: »
    Well no, I thought you were talking about Ireland.

    But there has been a similar drop in teen pregnancies in the US to the UK which is probably due to similar factors in both countries ... better sex education, better contraception and access to abortion.

    An important variable is also general inequality. I think that UK is still top in Europe in teenage pregnancies but it's getting better. In general when people are better of and have more options in life, they are better informed, more ambitious and more likely to pay for decent contraception, they have easier access to information and in more mixed society they also come across different lifestyles.


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    #70
    meeeeh
    Registered Users Posts: 11,624 ✭✭✭✭meeeeh


    wolfpawnat wrote: »
    My 16 year old brother nearly died when he made a comment about me using a condom and I said I did and sure they are not 100% effective. That was only a few months ago, my father and his wife feel it is better to leave it a little longer, he has been coming to me for the girl info, and his uncle who is only a few years older than him for the other stuff.
    Completely OT but that reminded me of my one year younger brother who at 16 showed up in my room and started fiddling with my bras that were on the dresser. I was wondering what is going on until I realized that he is trying to figure out how to open them quickly. So we went through different front and back opening bras and he practiced on them. :D


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    #71
    wolfpawnat
    Registered Users Posts: 6,124 ✭✭✭wolfpawnat


    meeeeh wrote: »
    Completely OT but that reminded me of my one year younger brother who at 16 showed up in my room and started fiddling with my bras that were on the dresser. I was wondering what is going on until I realized that he is trying to figure out how to open them quickly. So we went through different front and back opening bras and he practiced on them. :D

    Ah Jesus, I hope he goes to his uncle for that, I am 26, wearing them for over 15 years and still have problems with some of them:P:o


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    #72
    Neyite
    Administrators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,947 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Neyite


    What I liked most about the article, was that explained that it was ok not to want a threesome, that it was ok if it wasnt your thing, that your feelings and those of your partner can and should be taken into account. It was informative for those who are interested in it, and supportive for those who may not be, but are being pressured into it by a boyfriend /girlfriend because they saw it on a porno and it looked great, not taking into consideration the emotional consequences.

    I really despair for this country if Spunout gets pulled. Sex ed in our convent school consisted of contraception = abstinence, sex = within marriage, and I had a very religious upbringing. 20 years since I turned 17, (the year the virgin megastore started to sell condoms!) and there are still religious zealots wanting to pretend sex and sexual matters dont exist!! Unbelievable.


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    #73
    Larianne
    Registered Users Posts: 35,954 ✭✭✭✭Larianne


    Does anyone know what the figures are regarding STI/STDs?

    I'd hazard a guess it's not just teens that aren't well clued up on the various ones you can get and how. Could be wrong though.

    I think I got most of my sex education from Sugar and Bliss magazines. :o


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    #74
    Morag
    Registered Users Posts: 8,423 ✭✭✭Morag


    They have been on the rise

    http://www.thejournal.ie/gonorrhoea-stis-ireland-660408-Nov2012/
    THE NUMBER OF cases of STIs in Ireland has risen significantly, with gonorrhoea now at the highest rate ever recorded for the country.

    The report by the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre found there were 13,259 notifications of STIs in 2011, an increase of just over 12 per cent on the previous year.

    Gonorrhoea cases increased by one third (33.4 per cent) to 834 cases, and the incidence rate now stands at 18.2 per 100,000 population – a figure that is significantly higher than the European average (10.4) as well as being the highest incidence recorded in Ireland. Men made up almost 80 per cent of cases.

    Condoms can reduce the risk but they do not eliminate the risk esp when the STI are spread by skin to skin contact.

    http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2012/06/rise-in-stis-huge-cause-for-concern.html

    A study carried out by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC), and presented during the RCPI’s inaugural National Sexual Health Awareness Week, revealed there were 12,162 STI notifications during 2010.

    This represented an increase of 10.4 per cent on the figures for 2009 and was almost the same number of all other notifiable diseases reported in 2010.

    Chlamydia was the most commonly reported STI in 2010, accounting for 45 per cent of all STI notifications (119.2 per 100,000 population). While the rate of herpes simplex (genital) almost doubled in 2010 compared to 2009 (469 cases in 2009, 896 cases in 2010), this was attributed to retrospective reporting by one laboratory.

    In addition, gonorrhoea cases rose to 636 cases in 2010 compared to 434 cases in 2009, a rise of 46.5 per cent. This rise comes against a background of increased antimicrobial resistance, which threatens the treatment and control of gonorrhoea, said the HPSC.

    Looking at the incidence breakdown, 56.5 per cent of those diagnosed with an STI in 2010 were men, and 70.5 per cent of cases were among those aged under 30 years.

    Condoms do reduce the risks but they do not eliminate them, esp as some STI are spread by skin to skin contact.


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    #75
    pampootie
    Registered Users Posts: 1,441 ✭✭✭pampootie


    I was a huge reader when I was younger and read a biology book when I was 9. Called a lunchtime meeting of all the girls in my class the next day and announced "you get a baby by him putting his thing in you and weeing, yuck". Two girls cried. Then about 6 years later we had the tampax talk in school, with boys in one room and girls in another. We also had a biology teacher who went out sick every year when the chapter on reproduction was due, came back and said we would go back to it at the end of the year if there was time. It's madness really, I learned everything from books, sugar/bliss and my older sister. In fairness my parents would have talked to me about it but they knew I preferred talking to my sister and she was feeding them back progress reports on what I was learning!


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    #76
    Larianne
    Registered Users Posts: 35,954 ✭✭✭✭Larianne


    Morag - do you know of any figures as in who is more likely to get an STI/STD in Ireland, is it teens or older adults?


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    #77
    Morag
    Registered Users Posts: 8,423 ✭✭✭Morag


    That second link which is the Irish Medical Times from June last year states:

    http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2012/06/rise-in-stis-huge-cause-for-concern.html
    70.5 per cent of cases were among those aged under 30 years.

    This is people who were tested and treated, as we know some people are carriers for certain STI and never have the symptoms.


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    #78
    number66
    Registered Users Posts: 92 ✭✭number66


    I'm still waiting to see if anyone will ask Michelle Mulherin to supply her guide for teens and yound adults regarding "threesomes". She says the existing one is not good enough, I'd like to she what she would suggest in it's place. But thats not going to happen. A pure "Down with that sort of thing" moment. And our media is loving this, they can't leave it alone even though it does not deserve 10min of coverage.


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    #79
    clairefontaine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,390 ✭✭✭clairefontaine


    Morag wrote: »
    That second link which is the Irish Medical Times from June last year states:

    http://www.imt.ie/news/latest-news/2012/06/rise-in-stis-huge-cause-for-concern.html



    This is people who were tested and treated, as we know some people are carriers for certain STI and never have the symptoms.

    Is that because they are the ones most likely to get tested regularly? In other words because stds are not in the conciousness of older people, and not part of regular health checks, that statistic of the under 30s may be misleading.

    I read on a US stat its the baby boomers who are catching them, because post menopausal and post the whole AIDS conciousness, they are the least careful and the most susceptible.


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    #80
    wolfpawnat
    Registered Users Posts: 6,124 ✭✭✭wolfpawnat


    clairefontaine wrote: »
    Is that because they are the ones most likely to get tested regularly? In other words because stds are not in the conciousness of older people, and not part of regular health checks, that statistic of the under 30s may be misleading.

    I read on a US stat its the baby boomers who are catching them, because post menopausal and post the whole AIDS conciousness, they are the least careful and the most susceptible.

    It is one thing they test you for when you get bloods done here during pregnancy so you're more than likely right. Also as it came up in Scrubs one day (random I know) doctors don't tend to see a fifty seven year old and think "maybe it's an STD" Colleges and Youth Health Centers means that young people are screened regularly so they are more likely to find out if they have one. It would be interesting to screen 1000 people from each decade in all different sorts of relationships and see what way the statistics were.


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    #81
    meeeeh
    Registered Users Posts: 11,624 ✭✭✭✭meeeeh


    It is more likely though that you will have riskier sexual life when under 30. Large portion of over 30s are in stable long term relationships and have bigger (possibly false) sense of security and are less likely to test themselves.


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    #82
    clairefontaine
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,390 ✭✭✭clairefontaine


    meeeeh wrote: »
    It is more likely though that you will have riskier sexual life when under 30. Large portion of over 30s are in stable long term relationships and have bigger (possibly false) sense of security and are less likely to test themselves.

    Not necessarily. Married people have affairs all the time. And with a 50 % divorce rate, half the world is single. Plus after menopause the pregnancy fears are gone so people get less careful.


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    #83
    coffee_cake
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 81,309 CMod ✭✭✭✭coffee_cake


    clairefontaine wrote: »
    Not necessarily. Married people have affairs all the time. And with a 50 % divorce rate, half the world is single. Plus after menopause the pregnancy fears are gone so people get less careful.
    http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Divorce-rates-soar-in-Ireland-as-population-continues-to-expand-145121415.html
    The report states that the marital breakdown rate, calculated as the number of separated and divorced persons as a proportion of those who were ever married, rose from 8.7 per cent in 2006 to 9.7 per cent in 2011.
    I don't think we're at the states' rate yet


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    #84
    wolfpawnat
    Registered Users Posts: 6,124 ✭✭✭wolfpawnat


    clairefontaine wrote: »
    Not necessarily. Married people have affairs all the time. And with a 50 % divorce rate, half the world is single. Plus after menopause the pregnancy fears are gone so people get less careful.

    I'd say that that would add to the naivety of many over 30 though. Yes X could have been cheating and giving one to his wife and when she leaves him, because she is 43 she may not think that he gave her that. Perhaps, I think older people think it won't happen them more often than 18-30 year olds. We are made more aware of these things.


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    #85
    Meangadh
    Registered Users Posts: 3,963 ✭✭✭Meangadh


    I've absolutely no problem with the likes of spunout or the article in question- but, I do have a really bit issue with how every time something goes wrong in society, the education system is blamed.

    Teenage pregnancy: "Why didn't they do sex ed in school?"
    Deaths on the roads: " Why don't they learn the rules of the road in school?"
    Obesity: "Why don't they learn nutrition in school?"
    Environmental issues: "Why don't they learn about recycling etc school?"

    I know it's important that these things should be covered in school. And any school who is coming up short in these areas should be called up on it. But it BUGS me that it seems parents don't have to do any of this, it always falls back on the teachers. Parents HAVE to take responsibility- THEY are the primary care givers, the people who should be the first port of call for any questions kids have.

    It bugs me especially because I'm a teacher, so fair enough if I seem a bit emphatic about it. However, I know that the girls in our school get sex ed in religion, SPHE, Home Economics, Science and Biology classes. Plus a doctor who specialises in STIs speaks to them in TY (I actually wouldn't mind sitting in on some of those talks actually, but obviously it's for them and they'd feel more comfortable with a stranger than with us teachers in the room if they have any questions they might find embarrassing). Anyway, if that doesn't cover it, the rest should be supplemented by parents I think.


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    #86
    wolfpawnat
    Registered Users Posts: 6,124 ✭✭✭wolfpawnat


    Meangadh wrote: »
    I've absolutely no problem with the likes of spunout or the article in question- but, I do have a really bit issue with how every time something goes wrong in society, the education system is blamed.

    Teenage pregnancy: "Why didn't they do sex ed in school?"
    Deaths on the roads: " Why don't they learn the rules of the road in school?"
    Obesity: "Why don't they learn nutrition in school?"
    Environmental issues: "Why don't they learn about recycling etc school?"

    I know it's important that these things should be covered in school. And any school who is coming up short in these areas should be called up on it. But it BUGS me that it seems parents don't have to do any of this, it always falls back on the teachers. Parents HAVE to take responsibility- THEY are the primary care givers, the people who should be the first port of call for any questions kids have.

    It bugs me especially because I'm a teacher, so fair enough if I seem a bit emphatic about it. However, I know that the girls in our school get sex ed in religion, SPHE, Home Economics, Science and Biology classes. Plus a doctor who specialises in STIs speaks to them in TY (I actually wouldn't mind sitting in on some of those talks actually, but obviously it's for them and they'd feel more comfortable with a stranger than with us teachers in the room if they have any questions they might find embarrassing). Anyway, if that doesn't cover it, the rest should be supplemented by parents I think.

    A lot of parents don't want to take responsibility for such things, and when something like a teen pregnancy occurs, many parents NEED to blame others or else they would have to look at themselves and their short comings. Not something a lot of people enjoy doing.

    I think these websites, some education in school, the science side what STD's are, how you can spot them, how your body works, that sort of thing and parents at home, but a lot of parents feel it is feeding their children's curiosity to do these things as opposed to educating them and teaching them that if they do it, to be careful, but some people are really that backward. And the truly sad fact is some parent's don't actually have a clue. My partner is 28, his mother is in her 70's. She grew up in an Ireland where this sort of thing was kept well under the rug, she asked us what a STD was and how you got it!


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    #87
    Neyite
    Administrators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,947 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Neyite


    wolfpawnat wrote: »
    A lot of parents don't want to take responsibility for such things, and when something like a teen pregnancy occurs, many parents NEED to blame others or else they would have to look at themselves and their short comings. Not something a lot of people enjoy doing.

    I think these websites, some education in school, the science side what STD's are, how you can spot them, how your body works, that sort of thing and parents at home, but a lot of parents feel it is feeding their children's curiosity to do these things as opposed to educating them and teaching them that if they do it, to be careful, but some people are really that backward. And the truly sad fact is some parent's don't actually have a clue. My partner is 28, his mother is in her 70's. She grew up in an Ireland where this sort of thing was kept well under the rug, she asked us what a STD was and how you got it!

    And you have some parents utterly resistant to the fact that their 17 year old could possibly want to have sex, are absolutely NOT doing that (you get the old "I know my child" trotted out), or have feelings of attraction or arousal or even curiosity. Even if they know teenage shagging is rife amongst their offsprings friends, they will convince themselves that their child would not do that.


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    #88
    wolfpawnat
    Registered Users Posts: 6,124 ✭✭✭wolfpawnat


    Neyite wrote: »
    And you have some parents utterly resistant to the fact that their 17 year old could possibly want to have sex, are absolutely NOT doing that (you get the old "I know my child" trotted out), or have feelings of attraction or arousal or even curiosity. Even if they know teenage shagging is rife amongst their offsprings friends, they will convince themselves that their child would not do that.

    Oh God no, not their darling!!! Perish the thought, she know's better!!!

    I swear on my life, my partner's ex (she was with him for 5 years) and was more than a bit sexually active after him too and I swear her mother actually thought she was virginal. She got pregnant and claimed a guy was the father and he got 2 DNA test that proved he wasn't a her mother genuinely, hand on heart is denying the results of the tests claiming that the daughter has only ever slept with that man so it has to be his. Honestly, she thinks the 5 years her daughter was with my partner they sat around and never had sex or anything remotely sexual about their relationship! The daughter is 27 and the child isn't even 2, how can she honestly think that the girl was a virgin until her mid 20's!


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    #89
    meeeeh
    Registered Users Posts: 11,624 ✭✭✭✭meeeeh


    Meangadh wrote: »
    I've absolutely no problem with the likes of spunout or the article in question- but, I do have a really bit issue with how every time something goes wrong in society, the education system is blamed.

    Teenage pregnancy: "Why didn't they do sex ed in school?"
    Deaths on the roads: " Why don't they learn the rules of the road in school?"
    Obesity: "Why don't they learn nutrition in school?"
    Environmental issues: "Why don't they learn about recycling etc school?"

    It's an awkward matter to discuss but more importantly I'm pretty sure often parents are not informed enough to leave that subject just to them. And I'm including myself among them. Especially in disadvantaged areas there is less knowledge and it would be unfair to even further impede those kids. This is not a slight on any parent and personally I have absolutely no interest in certain subjects and no knowledge of them so I know just me explaining things to my kids is not enough.

    Example: the other day our four year asked me what sky is and I responded it's where the clouds are. My partner's response was all about sun shinning on the sea and reflecting into O3 level yadda, yadda, yadda. His reply was completely useless to a four years old but mine would be useless to 14 years old.

    School should teach children for life and not everybody will use integrals but huge majority will have sex.


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    #90
    Morag
    Registered Users Posts: 8,423 ✭✭✭Morag


    Meangadh wrote: »
    I've absolutely no problem with the likes of spunout or the article in question- but, I do have a really bit issue with how every time something goes wrong in society, the education system is blamed.

    Teenage pregnancy: "Why didn't they do sex ed in school?"
    Deaths on the roads: " Why don't they learn the rules of the road in school?"
    Obesity: "Why don't they learn nutrition in school?"
    Environmental issues: "Why don't they learn about recycling etc school?"

    I know it's important that these things should be covered in school. And any school who is coming up short in these areas should be called up on it. But it BUGS me that it seems parents don't have to do any of this, it always falls back on the teachers. Parents HAVE to take responsibility- THEY are the primary care givers, the people who should be the first port of call for any questions kids have.

    It bugs me especially because I'm a teacher, so fair enough if I seem a bit emphatic about it. However, I know that the girls in our school get sex ed in religion, SPHE, Home Economics, Science and Biology classes. Plus a doctor who specialises in STIs speaks to them in TY (I actually wouldn't mind sitting in on some of those talks actually, but obviously it's for them and they'd feel more comfortable with a stranger than with us teachers in the room if they have any questions they might find embarrassing). Anyway, if that doesn't cover it, the rest should be supplemented by parents I think.

    Does your school distribute the HSE sex program to parents to help with this?
    http://www.crisispregnancy.ie/publication/parents/


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    #91
    Meangadh
    Registered Users Posts: 3,963 ✭✭✭Meangadh


    Morag wrote: »
    Does your school distribute the HSE sex program to parents to help with this?
    http://www.crisispregnancy.ie/publication/parents/

    I don't know about that at all, I'm not involved in any of the subjects where sex ed is taught and bar parent teacher meetings for my subjects I wouldn't have much dealings with parents (I'm a secondary teacher, by and large primary teachers would have more contact with parents).

    It's something I'd be recommending to the teachers who are involved in these areas though. But really it should be the HSE who are contacting parents and not the schools when it comes to these programmes, as they are created by the HSE and not the Department of Education. Obviously there needs to be cross-department co-operation on this one, but I definitely think the education system gets bashed far more when it comes to sex ed, and the department of health is rarely mentioned!


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