Sex education for parents

Parents are potentially an important source of information and support to their children on sexual issues, and research shows that both parents and children are keen for a signi?cant part of sex education to take place in the home. In practice, however, it appears that many parents feel that they lack the skills and con?dence to play a direct role in sex educa-tion[1-4]. Experience from the USA and Europe suggests that parent education pro-grammes can have positive effects on the

quality of sex education that parents can offer. In 1991, Health Promotion Wales and the Family Planning Association in Wales (FPA Cymru) set up a pilot project designed to enhance parents’ sex education skills. The long-term aim was to produce a resource pack for sex education work with parents. In order to try out ideas for the contents of the pack,FPA Cymru ran pilot workshops with ?ve groups of parents identi?ed as having speci?c needs in relation to their children’s sex educa-tion. These were parents of young children,those with adolescents, those whose children had learning disabilities, those with children who had physical disabilities, and foster par-ents.

Setting up the project

Parents were recruited for the workshops through schools with which they were already in close contact. The exception was the foster parents’ group, who were enrolled through a Barnardo’s project. The project facilitator initially contacted the senior member of staff within each institution to gain agreement for the project to take place, to identify a member of the institution’s staff who might be willing to be involved in planning and co-facilitating the workshop sessions and to agree a means of recruiting parents.

Parents attached to the institutions were invited by letter to a preliminary meeting to explain the project. Interested parents then attended a further meeting to draw up an agenda of issues to be covered in the work-shops. Parents were encouraged to put for-ward topics which they would like to discuss,and the group agreed ground rules for the

Health Education

Number 5 · September 1996 · pp. 9–13? MCB University Press · ISSN 0965-4283

Sex education for parents

Virginia Blakey and

Jane Frankland

responsibility for sexual health issues at Health Promotion Wales.

Jane Frankland is a Research Associate at the Social Research Unit, University of Wales College of Cardiff, and was formerly a Research of?cer at Health Promotion

Wales.

important source of information and support to their children on sexual issues, in practice many parents feel that they lack the skills and con?dence to play a direct role in these matters. Presents ?ndings from a pilot project undertaken by Health Promotion Wales and FPA Cymru to enhance parents’ sex education skills. Details a series of workshops which were run for groups of parents with differing needs in relation to their children’s sex education.Describes how participants took part in pre-workshop interviews to identify their concerns and in post-workshop interviews to assess the impact of the workshops. Presents ?ndings from the workshop evaluations, together with some lessons learned from the project. Advises that the long-term outcome of the project, a resource pack on sex

education for parents, is now available.

workshops, covering issues such as con?den-tiality and respect for each other’s viewpoints.

Between September 1991 and December 1993, the FPA ran a series of six two-hour workshops with each of the groups identi?ed. These workshops provided parents with an opportunity to explore the needs of young people in the ?eld of relationships and sexual-ity; to examine their own attitudes and values to relationships and sexuality, and the ways in which these might affect their children’s views; to review appropriate resources and share relevant factual information; to practise communication skills; and to gain support from other parents in the group.

‘…Most of the parents of young children had given a great deal of thought to

their children’s sex education…’

The FPA training style is based on self-direct-ed learning, and the emphasis throughout the workshops was on participation and on allow-ing parents to reach their own conclusions about the topics covered. T opics were explored through a variety of methods, including discussion in pairs and small groups, role play and quizzes, with the provi-sion of factual information where appropriate.

Evaluation methods

The aim of the evaluation was to assess the processes involved in attracting parents to take part in workshops and in running the workshops. It was also important to gain an understanding of parents’ views of the work-shops and the effect of their experience on their ability to discuss sex education with their children. Evaluation data were obtained in several ways. First, semi-structured interviews were carried out with workshop participants both before the workshops began and within a few months of completion. The purpose of the ?rst interview was to provide background information about the parents and to gain insight into their concerns about their child-ren’s sex education. The interview involved broad, open-ended questions that explored:?parents’ views of sex education;

?their past experience of dealing with sexual issues with their children;

?their concerns about and needs relating to their sex education role; and ?their own sex education.

Post-workshop interviews aimed to assess both the self-reported impact of the work-shops on participants and their satisfaction with the project. This interview consisted of open-ended questions concerning:?parents’ views of the workshops;

?their experience of dealing with sexual issues since the workshops; and

?self-reported impact on knowledge, atti-tudes and ability to ful?l their sex educa-

tion role.

T o supplement information collected by interview, participants were asked to complete an anonymous evaluation form during their last workshop session. The purpose of this method of data collection was to examine parents’ immediate reactions to the work-shops, and the form therefore included mainly open-ended questions about:?enjoyment of the workshops;

?their usefulness; and

?their impact on their parents’ knowledge and ability to deal with sexual issues. Parents’ concerns

Pre-workshop interviews showed that parents who participated in the workshops were com-mitted to playing a large part in their chil-dren’s sex education, often because their own sex education had been limited or non-existent. The majority viewed sex education in a broad sense, and felt it should cover not only biological facts but issues such as the social and emotional aspects of sex and sexu-ality. Many of the parents reported an open relationship within their families which encouraged the discussion of sexual issues. On the whole, the parents were knowledge-able and felt relatively comfortable about dealing with sexual issues. Each group of parents had speci?c issues and concerns relating to the sex education of their children.

Most of the parents of young children had given a great deal of thought to their chil-dren’s sex education and were already very involved in talking to them about a variety of issues, although the topics obviously varied according to the child’s age. Parents of the younger children were dealing with questions such as “Where was I before I was in your tummy?”, whereas parents of older children were discussing menstruation, handling questions about HIV and AIDS, and giving

advice designed to protect their children from sexual abuse. They were often unsure about the time at which to start talking about sexual issues and about how to deal with them in an age-appropriate manner.

How much to tell?

Parents of adolescents had already covered a wide variety of issues with their children, including aspects of puberty, HIV and AIDS, contraception and homosexuality. The major-ity of the group were concerned about how much to tell children of this age, including whether they were telling them too much or too little. Some of the group were experienc-ing dif?culties in getting their children to talk to them and were hoping for ideas on how to encourage better communication. Most parents felt they needed to improve their knowledge about certain sexual issues, in particular HIV and AIDS. They were also keen to learn about the school’s sex education curriculum, in order to follow up issues cov-ered at school in the home.

Physical aspects

Parents of children with learning disabilities were unsure about how to deal with issues in a way that would be meaningful to their chil-dren. The majority of the group were con-cerned about dealing with the physical aspects of growing up; menstruation was a key issue for parents of girls, while parents of boys were concerned about inappropriate masturbation. The group were also anxious about the need to protect their children from sexual abuse. Some parents were concerned about the issue of sexual relationships, and had reservations about their children receiving sex education in case it encouraged sexual experimentation. Parents of children with physical disabilities were concerned about the effect of their child’s disability and of resultant medication on future sexual relationships. They were also concerned to promote a positive self-image for their children and to maintain their self-esteem in the context of forming relation-ships.

Foster parents were concerned about how to deal with sexual issues in an appropriate manner. They also wanted to discuss how to deal with moral issues, particularly where their children had been exposed to different value systems from their own. Several parents were unsure how to explain the differences between a birth mother and an adoptive mother.

Parents’ responses to the workshops

Over half of the project participants who completed an evaluation form during their

?nal workshop session felt that their atten-dance had affected the way they would deal with sexual issues with their children in the future, while a quarter felt that there had been little or no impact. The rest of the respon-dents were unsure. The post-workshop inter-views provided more in-depth information about parents’ perceptions of the project:?On the whole, parents enjoyed the work-shops and were happy with the methods

that were used, although some parents felt uncomfortable, at least initially, with the

methods and subject matter. There were

varied opinions about individual methods;

some parents disliked both role play and

talking within the group as a whole. Most

parents mentioned that the use of a variety of methods worked well.

?Most parents felt that they had acquired some factual knowledge from the work-

shops. This varied by group but included

facts about HIV/AIDS, new methods of

contraception, the law relating to sexual

behaviour, puberty in boys, and the help

and resources available to parents. Many

parents mentioned the value of the infor-

mation lea?ets they had received, and

several parents reported that making these available to their children had subsequently stimulated discussion.

?All of the parents of children with learning disabilities and some of the parents of

children with physical disabilities expressed

a greater awareness and understanding of

their children’s needs and feelings in rela-

tion to sexual issues. This involved

improved knowledge of issues that might

arise in the future; the realization that their children had sexual feelings; and a recogni-tion of their children’s need for autonomy, both in terms of sexual issues and more

generally.

?All group participants were encouraged, through various exercises, to examine their attitudes to sexuality and sex education.

While few felt their attitudes had changed, some parents found this process useful, as an opportunity to consider their feelings or

as a reinforcement of their attitudes to

particular issues. However, several partici-pants in the adolescent group mentioned

that they did not see any value in exploring their own feelings in relation to sex and

sexuality.

?Parents in all groups talked of having gained support, particularly through the

process of sharing problems with other

parents. This was most deeply felt by

the parents of children with learning

disabilities. Participants also mentioned

the value of learning from each other’s

experiences of dealing with particular

issues.

?Many parents felt that they had gained more con?dence in dealing with sexual

issues. As a result, they felt able to talk

more openly and better able to answer their children’s questions.

?Some participants felt that the workshops had not dealt with their main concerns,

and therefore had had little or no impact

on their ability to deal with sex education

issues. Some parents felt that questions of how to raise and discuss issues, and when

to raise them, had not been addressed. In

addition, parents whose children were not willing to talk to them felt that the work-

shops had not helped with this problem.

Lessons from the project

The project evaluation highlighted several important issues to be borne in mind when undertaking sex education workshops for parents:

?Recruitment of parents was dif?cult, and would have been almost impossible with-

out the help of an intermediary institution such as a school or voluntary organization.

Even with the help of these agencies, the

proportion of parents contacted who

enrolled in the project was low, and these

were mostly parents who were already

relatively comfortable with and making a

real contribution to their children’s sex

education. Of the parents who attended,

nearly all were women.

?The composition of the groups was impor-tant both for successful group dynamics

and in order to maximize the impact of the workshops. The groups that ran most

smoothly tended to be those in which the

majority of participants had a similar

approach to sex education, and were

familiar with each other and with the meth-ods used. However, reactions from some

parents suggested that it is perhaps more

stimulating to have a group of participants with varying approaches and attitudes to

sexuality and sex education.

?It is important that parents participating in workshops should be similar in terms of

factors which affect their children’s sex

education. For workshops to address par-

ents’ current needs and for parents to

bene?t from sharing with others, the age

range of children connected with the group should be fairly tightly de?ned.

?The format of a series of weekly sessions made it dif?cult for some parents to attend every workshop. Workshop organizers

might want to explore the alternative of an intensive day or weekend course.

?Sex education is an emotive subject for all parents, and discussions relating to sex

education may arouse anxiety or even

hostility. Skilled facilitation is therefore

required to run workshops of this nature,

and the agreement of ground rules is essen-tial for participants to feel able to share

feelings and experiences.

?There was some reluctance among parents to explore attitudes towards different

sexual issues. This appears to be because

participants did not relate their own atti-

tudes to those of their children; because

participants were concerned about reveal-ing personal facts and feelings; and because they felt that they had already considered

their attitudes and felt certain about them.

The powerful role of parents in the trans-

mission of attitudes and the effects that

their attitudes have on sexual behaviour

therefore need to be carefully explained. ?Workshops of this type can realistically expect to provide parents with information, support and con?dence, and may improve parents’ skills in relation to sex education

indirectly. However, participation in such

groups is unlikely to overcome long-estab-lished communication dif?culties between parents and children.

?Some parents felt that important issues, particularly questions such as how much to tell children and when, had not been ade-

quately addressed in the workshops. While it is not feasible to provide parents with

tight guidelines about what to say to a child of a particular age, it might be helpful to

include some more didactic sessions to

provide parents with the opportunity to

hear the views of professionals and other

parents and to consider examples of what could take place.

Project outcomes: the resource pack

Drawing on the experience gained from the pilot workshops, in May 1996 Health Promo-tion Wales and FPA Cymru published a resource pack designed for professionals who want to work with parents on sex education issues[5]. Themes covered in the exercises include de?ning sexuality and sex education; communication about sex and sexuality; exploring sexual attitudes and values; prepar-ing for puberty; contraception, HIV/AIDS and safer sex; sexual abuse; and dealing with con?ict situations. Photocopiable handouts and tips for parents are included. The pack also contains guidelines on running sex edu-cation workshops for parents, and a list of useful resources and agencies.

References

1Allen, I., Education in Sex and Personal Relationships, Policy Studies Institute, London, 1987.

2Brannen, J., Dodd, K., Oakley, A. and Storey, P., Young People, Health and Family Life, Open University Press, Buckingham, 1994.

3National Foundation for Educational Research, Parents, Schools and Sex Education, Health Education Authority, London, 1994.

4Currie, C. and Todd, J., Health Behaviours of Scottish Schoolchildren: Report 3: Sex Education, Personal

Relationships, Sexual Behaviour and HIV AIDs Knowl-edge and Attitudes, Health Education Board for

Scotland, Edinburgh, 1993.

5Dix, D., Sex Education for Parents: A Resource Pack for Professionals to Support Parents in Their Role as Sex

Educators, Health Promotion Wales/FPA Cymru,

Cardiff, 1996.