According to a recent survey, approximately half of parents in the UK do not enlighten their children about puberty, relationships and sex, because they are unsure what to say, are embarrassed, or lack confidence and knowledge about sexual health. From 9,000 young people participating in the study, 46% revealed that they received ‘nothing’ or ‘not a lot’ of information on sex and relationships from their parents.
To raise awareness regarding growing fears about the sexualization of childhood, and in reaction to the survey, the sexual health charity FPA has launched their ‘Facts of Live’ national campaign, which gives parents the skills and information to communicate with their children regarding puberty, relationships and sex.
Although earlier Government enterprises, such as the Bailey Review, recognize a lot of the consequences and concerns about the sexualization of children, the FPA says that the initiative lacks practical advice and support to help parents tackling the subject at home.
The FPA is the UK’s leading and trusted authority that spent a decade helping 15,000 parents to communicate the facts of life with their children through their Speakeasy parenting program. The Facts of Life campaign is hoping to extend their work by distributing approximately 200,000 FPA leaflets ‘Talking with confidence to your children about puberty relationships and sex’ across the UK.
The leaflets contain lots of practical advice and are distributed to various venues, including the Sure Start centers, sexual health clinics, GPs, schools and colleges as well as being available online.
According to Julie Bentley, Chief Executive FPA:
“Explaining to a five year old where babies come from might be challenging enough. But as children get older, parents have things like the internet, fashion, music videos, gaming and pornography to deal with. It’s no wonder parents struggle with how to talk to their children about these difficult subjects.
We’ve produced this leaflet and the online information because we don’t think there’s enough practical support for parents. They should be reassured that with the right help and advice talking about the facts of life with your child doesn’t have to be difficult. And many parents find that once they start addressing the often taboo subject of sexual health and relationships as a family conversation, other subjects also become more straightforward as well.”
As part of the FPA annual Sexual Health Week (12-18 September), the campaign will be running with six thousand participating outlets across the UK.
Other campaign activities The FPA Twitter ‘Tweet-Off’ – The FPA challenges Twitter users to answer a child’s question about puberty, relationships and sex throughout the week with new questions set every day. Answers cannot exceed Twitter’s 140-character rule. Join in at @FPACharity.
Parenting Video – The FPA asked Glasgow mums to share some stories regarding their children’s questions about puberty, sex and relationships at a recent parenting event. Link to web page with video.
Online Help and Advice – ‘What do I tell my six year old?’ suggestions can be found on the FPA website
Cringe Questions – FPA invites parents to share their children’s funny, serious or embarrassing questions. The best questions will be published midweek on the website.
Written by Petra Rattue