Clueless

Imagine my horror when I read in Friday's paper that England is passing a law to start sex education in Kindergarten. England apparently has a very high teen pregnancy rate and is so taking measures they feel will help deal with this problem. (Excuse me while I bang my head against the wall.) The course won't be teaching the kids about sex, but more about the differences between girls and boys and how to deal with their emotions in that regard. Huh? My kindergartner was more concerned about not getting caught picking her nose and who got the most dessert, not sexual emotions. But maybe she was not as advanced as some kids. In India they had a kindergarten sex program, but then stopped it because they felt it "corrupted youth". Smart people.

Not only are the English hitting kids at an early age with all sorts of new vocabulary words and ideas, but also they are going to start teaching eleven year-olds and on about sex. And they are going to encourage kids to have safe sex by handing out free condoms. (I know this idea is not novel to the US either.)Wow! Times have changed! When I was eleven I was riding my bike around the neighborhood beating up boys and trying to avoid taking baths. Sex just wasn't on my mind at all. Boys were icky, gross, and smelly.

Now I know kids these days know a lot more about sex at an earlier age, but I blame a lot of that on the media, bad parenting, and educating children too early about sex. First off, I don't want the school stepping in to teach my child about sex, especially at age 5. That is my job. I want to handle how such a delicate and sacred subject is presented to my kids, thank you very much. I know many parents don't bother to teach their kids about sex, but I want the right do it when my kids are ready. Don't take that away from me.

Second,teaching kids about sex at an early age and handing out free condoms is only going to make them more curious about it. Why don't they just start pairing kids off to practice safe sex together? It's practically what they are doing by supplying kids with the knowledge and means to have sex. Yes, what a brilliant idea! (I am being sarcastic, in case you can't tell.)

Third, and even more scary, is how these educators are missing the whole big picture. Teaching kids about sex and the body and handing out free condoms may help cut back on teen pregnancies, but it still won't cut back on kids who have premarital sex. They will be protecting the students against the physical consequences of sex, but what about the far more destructive emotional affects? Now we live in a world where one night stands, non-committal relationships, and divorce are the norm. Gee, I wonder if there is a correlation? We are taught by the world that you can have sex as an adult and not suffer emotionally for it. It's just sex, right? But anyone who has half a brain and has not completely become spiritually deadened knows that is a lie. Sex is more than just the physical uniting of bodies, it is the uniting of spirits, an unspoken commitment that is deeply emotional, not to mention the sacred powers of pro-creation involved. At least that is what the Lord intended it to be. Allowing youth to unleash this awesome and sacred power will only cause great heartache and emotional instability. It is spiritually destructive, but, of course, the world is too blind to see that.

It's sad to see how hard hearted the world has become. Yes, taking these measures may cut back on teenage pregnancies, but they also will create another generation of spiritually and emotionally dead adults who cannot maintain a normal relationship and who focus only on themselves. Haven't we learned that lesson yet? Thank goodness for the Gospel and for the knowledge we have in knowing the sacredness of sex. I will fight with all my power to make sure my kids know and are taught in my home, and not in school, about the sanctity of the body and marriage.