Grow up mom, I know sex is real
NEW DELHI: “We already know about ‘it’, and many of us are experimenting. What we really want is a patient ear and some sensible advise,” says a 17-year-old Class XII student. ‘It’ here means sex. Gen Y doesn’t need to be “told about” the birds and the bees. They simply need a clearer picture about various issues related to sex .
It’s no longer possible to hide behind the old “stork-brought-you-home,” or “hospitals-give-out-babies” excuses when your five-year-old asks ” How are babies born ?” Your child, most likely, will refuse to believe you, thanks to the Television. Educationists say generation next has already bitten the forbidden apple . It needs is information and realistic counselling.
Says Sadhna Bhalla, principal, Mira Model School, “We are now dealing with young adults who are already exposed to a lot of sexual inputs. The main concern now is to bring awareness. Schools can’t dictate moral terms. They can only provide information and counselling so that kids are ’safe’.”
While GenY is street smart, their emotional intelligence is what worries parents and teachers alike. Most parents find it difficult to deal with peer pressure and intimacy issues.
Rama Natarajan, a teacher herself, was brought up short when in a frank moment her daughter asked her as to which would be the “ideal age” for a woman to have sex for the first time. “When my daughter confided that her friends had all lost ‘it’ and that she was ‘hymenally challenged’ I realised that she was under a lot of peer pressure,” adds Natarajan.
