Parents must serve as children’s sexual education teachers
Parents must serve as children’s sexual education teachers
Nana Tekyiwa Frempoma, Nimfa Hema of Winneba has called on parents to discuss with their children issues bordering on sex education in order to curb the high rate of teenage pregnancy in the country.
Most teenagers, especially girls,’ first sexual education comes from their peers, social media, or through curiosity, which ends in pregnancy, therefore, parents must not neglect their responsibilities to teach their children at home, Nana Frempoma told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Tema.
She attributed the high incidence of teenage pregnancy to lack of sexual education, saying that, “most of the teenage girls are not informed about so many things’.
“If parents do not teach their children about sex, they will learn the wrong information from somewhere else and an opportunity to instill family values may be missed”.
According to the Queen Mother inadequate parental support and open communication regarding sexual issues is the major factor of high teenage pregnancy in the country.
“Parents have to play their roles at home by being responsible and educating their children about sex to avoid risky behaviours,” she stressed.
Nana Frempoma said, some parents are uncomfortable or afraid to talk with their children about sex education, and cautioned that, ‘if you fail to provide your child with the right information, others will misinform him or her.
“A child is exposed to information about sex from sources such as school, friends and the media, at a much earlier age than many parents would expect,” and advised parents to utilise the weekends to discuss sex education with thier children.’.
“Parents should be good role models to the children since teenagers are careful and constant observers of the adults in their lives,” she said.
She explained further that “we can’t eliminate teenage pregnancy but we can reduce it,” and urged teachers, parents, and religious leaders to use their platforms to discuss issues on teenage pregnancy.
Source: Newsghana.com
