Man embarks on the journey as a baby, gradually exploring and learning the myriad facets of life, leading him to stand as a full-fledged adult. Now, what matters is the ‘type’ of tools he gains in his formative years and the ‘way’ to use them. What generally happens is that the term ‘sex’ and its genus are deemed as a ‘taboo’ especially in the context of Indian society, which is an irony in itself. Children become inquisitive about sex and the human anatomy at a juvenile age, and it is their parents’ obligation to deal with these challenging subjects. They ought to be educated about the euphemistic “birds and bees” from that point of time in life.
S/he should not be abstained from any fact and should be brought home, whenever found curious to see, to know, or to discover. For instance, when a five-year-old is eager to know why his/her aunt suddenly has a protruding tummy, it is the perfect time to explain about pregnancy. The opportunities to discuss sexuality need to be captured, while preventing any gender bias; both the parents should guide the child of any gender.
It is an art to create an amicable ambiance, the child ‘must feel’ comfortable enough at all times to ask any question, reveal any query, present any thought; no matter how absurd do these sound. Parents must be approachable and they themselves should not feel any discomfort while grooming their kid, as the mislaid shame or embarrassment instigates one to sugar coat issues. Honesty marks a significant existence, the child must be made aware of the ‘actual’ names for sundry body parts such as penis and vagina and the enticement to use “baby” terms must be withset, while topics like masturbation, menstruation must never be misrepresented. Precaution is better than cure; parents must foretaste various sexual issues and carefully broach the world of human sexuality.
A child’s tender mind is just like clay, the duty to mould it to a firm shape lies in the hands of the parents and the elders. Sex should not be overall framed to be harmful and something to be escaped from. Children must, along with initiating, ‘right action’ at the ‘right time’ and the negative outcomes of the imbalance between the two; be shown the other side of the coin, that is the love, sexual intimacy, the strengthening of bonds, etc. leading a human life to flourish. Many unfortunate children who are devoid of the complete knowledge of the human sexual behaviour act as a prey to the numerous misconsequences such as they suffer from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), AIDS; sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancies, unhealthy relationships, poor emotional intelligence and so on. Comprehensively, this makes the life disastrous. So, let us be aware, be careful and live a healthy life of a true human being.