Most of us had some kind of sex education when we were in high school, though it probably wasn’t taught by someone comfortable doing it. And it also probably didn’t cover much more than how pregnancy happens or what a condom is. So if you didn’t get much sex ed, it can be hard to know what your teen's sex education program could look like. Let’s get into what sex education should cover in high school:
- Consent and healthy relationships. This involves what makes a relationship healthy or unhealthy, and how to safely navigate sexual consent.
- Personal safety. This means how to avoid sexual predators — in-person and online — as well as what to do if you or someone you know is in an unhealthy or abusive relationship.
- Body image and self-esteem. This includes how to maintain a healthy body image and good self-esteem in our often damaging culture, especially for people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people with disabilities.
- Media and culture. This covers looking at how media — including pornography — can glorify unhealthy relationships. It also includes understanding how society shapes our ideas about sex, gender, and race, and how to form your own opinions about what you consume online.
- Gender and orientation. This means learning about the differences between sexual orientation, sexual behavior, and sexual identity, as well as how LGBTQ+ teens benefit from family and school support.
- Sexual health. This is the stuff you probably already think of when you think of sex ed, like birth control options, preventing sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy options. It also includes how to think about if and when you’re ready to have sex. Sexual health also covers how racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and more can affect sexual health, and what we can do about it.
If you think your teen isn’t learning this but you want them to, we’ve got your back. You can start by sharing this blog with other parents you know, and talking about what you’d like your kid’s school to teach. You can ask your school staff for more information about what they do teach, and ask them to include these topics. If they don’t have a health teacher to do it, you can contact your nearest Planned Parenthood’s education program to see if they can teach in your teen’s school.
Young people deserve the information and skills they need to make healthy decisions about sex and relationships — now and in the future. And you can help by advocating for sex education that covers this kind of wide range of topics, setting them up for success in all of their future relationships.