Chengdu primary-school kids talk about 'sex'

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On National Birth Planning Day last Sunday, 29 May, primary-school children in Jinniu were engaged in a discussion on sexual health, marking the start of a series of activities aimed at promoting sexuality education for schools in the district, reported Sichuan News Network and Chengdu Daily.

The dialogue was jointly conducted by the district's Population and Family Planning Bureau, Education Bureau and Family Planning Committee, as well as the Sichuan Sexual Sociology and Research Centre.

A game of life-sized chess in which the players, both parents and children, had to find clues on good sexual health attracted many families.

Third-grade students from Xingzhi Primary School and their parents took part in a quiz. The experts from the Sichuan Sexual Sociology and Research Centre shared their opinions on the students' level of knowledge in this area.

The experts said that puberty is a 'sensitive period' in one's lifetime, being a peak for physical development and a time when sexual abilities mature. Levels of self-consciousness, knowledge and wisdom increase within this period as well. Thus it is timely for holistic development of one's psychological, emotional and physical well-being.

Teaching kids to discern what is 'dangerous'
Pamphlets and family planning devices were distributed at the event, with an open-minded approach of educating youth about sexual knowledge and birth planning methods.

The primary-school students were taught 'Where are the private parts', 'You should boldly reject when someone touches your private parts', 'You should not enter a stranger's car although you wish to get home early' and other educational messages.

Teachers also told students that they should not touch their own private parts for no appropriate reason, nor should they stare at others' bodies. Primary-school children do not have to be taught 'difficult concepts' as what is most important for them is to identify signs of risks and know how to manage tricky situations, the experts said.

Sex education to be included in the curriculum
The Education Bureau of Jinniu plans to develop a series of programmes for primary and secondary schools. Three primary schools and four secondary schools will be undergoing the pilot programmes this year. Fifth-graders and sixth-graders, as well as the first-year and second-year students in secondary schools will be learning about sex education as part of their curriculum.

Other schools in Jinniu are to use approaches such as video screening, seminars, thematic classes to carry out the programme, which focuses on high-school students.

Sichuan's first sex-education teacher-training program was launched at Chengdu University's College of Education last September.