Is Sex Education Beneficial or Harmful to Teenagers - Essay Example

s Topic: Is sex education beneficial or harmful to teen agers? Sex education is beneficial for teen agersand is a burgeoning need of today’s time and age. The transition from adolescence to teenage is a very crucial period that raises many questions in the minds of most teenagers. The body is undergoing various physical as well as hormonal changes in that time frame which arouses curiosity in teenagers. In addition to all this, there is an impulsive drive within the teenagers to engage in forbidden adequate notwithstanding the absence of wisdom and guidance.

As a result more harm than good can be done. Opponents of sex education argue against sex education by claiming that this type of education opens kids to ideas that they had not thought about before. They start fantasizing about instead of letting it go by and let things take its own natural course. They start wondering about it, start thinking about its consequences and start treating it as an exception to the norms of the world. As a result, they can become more vulnerable to poor choices regarding sex, poorer than what they would have taken without being informed.

A lot of parents also argue against sex education. They feel that sex education takes away the responsibility from the family. At the end of the day, it is the parent’s job to raise their children and the onus is on them how they want to educate their children about sex education. Educating their kids on sex education triggers a bond between them and their children which is lost if the kids assume that school will teach their kids. By education about sex, many opponents feel that schools try to step into the shoes of the family.

Sex education can be very healthy for teens. It offers them guidance and prevents teenage pregnancies. It presses emphasis on the importance of abstinence and the use of contraceptive methods. Teenagers are mentally not fit and unprepared to take charge of pregnancy, parenthood and child birth. Sex education makes them better informed about the aforementioned aspects of our daily life. They become well aware of the impact of teenage pregnancy on their health as well as on the health of a fetus.

They are also able to ear mark things which are important during pregnancy and the negative impact of hiding pregnancy away. (Kirby) Sex education will illuminate teenagers with enough wisdom and knowledge to realize the harmful impact of teenage pregnancy. They will then go out of their way to avoid it. Other than promoting awareness about teenage pregnancies, lot of sexually transmitted diseases can also be controlled in this way. For instance, sex education also teaches children about AIDS and various other diseases transmitted sexually.

These include gonorrhea, arthritis, pelvic inflammatory disease and syphilis. Thus sex education is important and a major responsibility of all parents and teachers. They might as well get this information first hand from their peers instead of getting half baked stories from other sources for instance magazines and websites. The primary objective of sex education to teenagers is to bring about “prevention” in order to tackle and take care of growing health programs within this age bracket.

Given the social stigma associated with teen pregnancies in India and everywhere else in the world, it becomes clear why sex education is important for teenagers. In countries like America and UK, sex education has been integrated across the board in all schools and colleges alike. Initially, this move was met with a lot of resistance as many schools were hesitant about educating their students on sex. Where third world countries are concerned, for example : India, sex education is yet to be accepted in their normal curriculum.

Many opponents of sex education had called on for evidence regarding the benefits of teaching children about contraception. Research has proven time and again that most sex education programs which enlighten children on the advantages of abstinence and contraception have been effective. They help youngsters take sound decisions on sex and its impact on one’s health to say the least. Thus, given the way children have access to various information sources for instance internet, google, tv, movies etc in today’s age and time, sex education can serve to provide them with enough wisdom.

They will be able to take decisions regarding pregnancy, contraception and sex more wisely. There is no harm in teaching about it as long as they are taught objectively without any prejudices to the issue of any kind. The aim should be to enlighten the students effectively. References: Kirby D. Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy; May 2001 Kirby D, Korpi M, Barth RP, Cagampang HH. The Impact of the Postponing Sexual Involvement Curriculum Among Youths in California.

Family Planning Perspectives. 1997;29(3):100-108.