Sex education begins at home, whether parents are aware of it or not. When sex is honestly discussed, the home becomes a source of both objective facts and moral understanding. When sex is a taboo subject, kids discern that it is something mysterious and forbidden, and therefore something probably worth exploring. As one researcher noted, “Parents are a child’s earliest models of sexuality and authority; they communicate with their children about sex and sexual values indirectly and nonverbally.”
Teenagers need to know that the changes in their bodies and the changing emotions that accompany them are normal. They need to know that their increased sexual awareness is also normal. This is especially important among Christians. The church also must be involved in the education of its young members. Teenagers are going to find out one way or another how their bodies work, and when parents and the church deny kids the information they so vitally need, they set their young people up for trouble.
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