If you start teaching them about sex when they are engaging in sexual activities you’re clearly to late.

Kids aged 10 will understand what sex but haven’t yet participated in it. In that sense it’s the perfect age to start education. Kids that know what sex is will be much likely to be able to set their own boundaries.

The headline about teaching 10-year-olds how to use Grindr is clearly someone making clickbait and not giving a sh*t about representing the actuality.

Women hit puberty a lot sooner than men. My parents didn’t tell me anything about periods or puberty because they were religious and didn’t want to talk about it. Luckily, my school gave me sex ed the year of my first period while I was still in elementary school at age 10, so I wasn’t freaked out when I had my period and knew I needed a pad. Girls have been getting their periods even more early than that nowadays. Sex ed isn’t about just having sex or what sex is, it’s about your body and how it is developing. Then once I hit high school I was given more in depth sex ed about how to be safe, types of birth control, the menstrual cycle (which was already covered in elementary school but a good refresher), and other health topics like mental health.

The tweet seems to imply that the story is made up.

In fact I have yet to find proof of any public school attempting to give graphic sex education to middle or elementary school children.

Now, if you’re against all sex education for elementary school kids, you’re just making easy targets for pedophiles.

I have a child this age. It’s not that you’re expecting them to engage in sexual activities but they ABSOLUTELY have quite detailed questions and a bit of information at this age, both information gathered from parents and observation as well as the less-than-accurate information they have obtained via the rumor mill. Yes, there’s also the internet, but despite access to the internet, I’m finding that the rumor mill to still be the primary place where this info is spread.

In addition, 10 is about the age when puberty starts on average (for girls it is often even a bit earlier), so it’s important accurate information is provided before that happens. There are 10 year old girls who often appear quite older and those girls are likely going to get attention that they may be be prepared for. It’s important that they KNOW about sexual activity in order to know that it’s OK and appropriate to say NO. Sometimes information is what STOPS kids from engaging in sexual activity that they are not prepared for. It’s the kids who don’t have that information, who may not even understand what is happening, that are more likely to engage in sexual activity.

Bottom line is accurate and early sex ed is really important. More than ever, kids need ACCURATE information about sex and their bodies.

My guy, I found my old man’s porn stash in '99 at the ripe old age of 7. He fucking sucked at keeping it hidden. Better that I would have learned sex ed from a more reputable source than Hustler Magazine. Because I knew the words “cock” and “shaft” and “twat” and “tits” before I ever knew penis, vagina, and breasts. And I promise you there are millions of stories like mine where young boys found pornography entirely too early and turned out cis/straight. Just like me.

You know what porn never teaches you? That there are potential negative outcomes to sex. Like unwanted encounters, predators, unwanted pregnancy, and disease. It never teaches you how to protect yourself. It never teaches you how to properly put on a condom. It never teaches you about birth control and it’s side effects. It never teaches you how to identify problems in your reproductive system.

Also, plenty of parents are diametrically opposed to teaching kids sex ed, but peruse YouTube Kids for a few minutes and see what kind of creepy shit is being served to them. Kids being served softcore porn on YouTube has been an issue for YEARS. My five year old nephew gets some weird ass Godzilla tits (sans nipples) in thumbnails on YouTube in the Kids app more frequently than you would ever believe. He doesn’t understand what it is. But it grabs his attention and gets his click until an adult in the room notices. If you think they won’t find it themselves or it won’t get served to them, you’re dead wrong.

So why not teach them about these things in a controlled environment with a purely educational context?

I remember having my first sex ed class at 10 years old, the last year of primary school before moving to middle school. There was more in depth sex ed in middle school before moving to high school. Getting that knowledge about your body BEFORE moving into a more challenging social situation is key.

I was in 6th grade in catholic school when I had my first sex-ed classes. I has basically just about turned 11 when I learned about stuff like what a penis is, what a vagina is, we saw videos about births, we learned about stds, and how contraceptives are usually effective but not perfect.

Post aside, there should be different degrees of education for different ages. At 10, a child should know enough to seek help in case of abuse… At puberty, enough to alleviate any anxiety about the changes they’re going through. Mid teenage years, how to be safe, etc

They don’t go into every detail at an early age. At that age, it’s more about sexual preference. It’s less about teaching reproduction, and more about saying, “Yes, Timmy, it’s okay you have a crush on Tommy; you’re still loved.” And that’s pretty much it.

Conservatives are as much against sex education regarding straight sex for young children. How is that homophobic?

It’s homophobic because…

1. This isn’t real and it doesn’t happen

2. This fantasy story is made up as part of a plan to justify the banning of books

3. The REAL books they want to ban are about accepting your sexuality even if you’re gay

TYL

10 I feel is way to low maybe 15-14 would be a bit better