Your child approaches you one day and asks, "Mommy, where did I come from?"
Are you prepared to give them the straight-to-the-point answer, or will you give them the old "you come from Mommy's tummy" response? If you have children, you know that issues of sexuality will eventually arise, and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCHA) wants to help parents to become better prepared to deal with these situations.
More than 70 parents showed up at the Squamish Public Library on Monday evening (Mar. 1) to hear how to properly handle sexuality education for children, and how to become an 'askable' parent.
"We are hosting this workshop to improve sexual health education and services in the community," said Sue King, a VCHA public health nurse.
At the workshop, participants joined in discussions and activities focusing on how to properly handle the delicate subject matter of sexuality. Joy Becker, a registered nurse and sexuality education expert from the VCHA, has been giving presentations to parents, teachers and nurses for over 10 years.
"The best we can do as parents for our children is for them to know our values," she said. "We're giving kids the tools they'll need to understand sexuality as they grow."
Becker spoke to parents on several different aspects of sexuality, including what type of sexual information is needed at various ages, how to handle your child's questions about the 'facts of life', what kinds of words to use, how to discuss feelings, emotions and personal safety, and the importance of communication.
"If they learn to communicate to the people closest to them about sensitive issues, it will be much easier to express themselves and talk about sexuality."
All parents present were given a handout with numerous questions and exercises relating to topics on sexuality, and were asked to partner up with a neighbour to discuss certain topics and answer questions relating to their own history in learning about sex.
"The more informed we are as parents, the more opportunities to communicate with our children about this topic that we shouldn't shy away from. Our children can learn a lot more from us than they can from a book," said Becker.
According to the VCHA, parents should be the primary sexuality educators of children, although parents occasionally need the tools and information to take advantage of 'teachable moments' with their children.
The entire evening focused around spreading awareness and education and funneling information from parent to child.
Becker added, "Knowledge gives them power to make smart, safe decisions."
