CRI听力:China Changes Attitude to Sex Education for Minors

Most children have asked their parents the question "Where did I come from?" This is considered one of the toughest questions for parents to answer.

In China, most parents tell their children lies when answering this question. Almost everyone has a different version of what their parents told them.

"My mom said she picked up me out of the garbage bin. At that time, I really believed her answer, and I was so heartbroken."

"My father told me I was carried into his house along with the flood. And for a very long time, I thought I had been. Then I learned how I was born when I was in middle school."

But one child psychology expert warns that such answers can have a negative influence on children when they get older and see through the lies; then they will subconsciously believe they cannot tell the truth when it comes to sex.

He Feng is a sex education expert in Henan Province.

"Children are na?ve. When we provide sex education about reproductive organs, children seem curious, and this is simply a knowledge-learning process."

Experts say it is appropriate for three to six-year old children to receive elementary sex education when they are in kindergarten. But most kindergartens say they are not sure about the proper way to instruct children about sex at such a young age. Zhu Yanhong is headmaster of a kindergarten in Beijing.

"One reason that we don't provide elementary sex education to children is the lack of proper relevant textbooks; second, there is no expert who can guide us as to how to provide sex education instruction to preschool children. If children received proper sex education earlier, they would know how to better protect themselves. However, we have no idea about how much we should teach and in what way."

Children's reproductive health is a relatively new topic in China, as there are few reference books or publications for kindergartens, especially a book from the perspective of children's psychology.

Cheng Nan, a kindergarten teacher in Beijing says picture books about elementary sex education for children have recently begun to appear.

"Currently, there are several picture books that we feel very good about. For example, the book 'Do Not Kiss Me or Touch Me Randomly.' With that, we can teach children about sex education while reading stories for them."

Zhu Yanhong says early education teachers wish to provide elementary sex education to children at the proper time and in a proper manner so that the children can learn about who they are, where they come from, and how they can better protect themselves.

For CRI, I am Zhang Wan.