Imagine a 4 month old baby being trained by experts so that she uses proper pronunciation as she grows old when all that a baby can speak at this age is babbles or laughs. Or imagine a young badminton player being taught all the tricks of the game on day one of his training so that he doesn’t commit any mistake during competitive matches. Or first grade math students who are learning addition, subtraction being prepared to solve derivatives so that he doesn’t err in taxation in future!

A recent YRF web series does exactly this, it teaches a young boy aged roughly between 6-8 years about sex education! The most outrageous part of the web series is the child explaining in his voice over the process of getting pregnant, using condoms to prevent pregnancy, etc. The web series claims to ‘creatively’ ‘educate’ young generation about sex. Children as young as the boy shown in web series are not concerned about pregnancy or sex but are more inclined towards exploring the new mature motor skills developing within them like increased physical stamina, balance and skills while playing sports. Children at this age have also started developing improved cognition, writing and manipulation skills. This is the ideal time to coach and teach them to play musical instruments or some competitive sports rather than giving sermons on sex education.

How to address curiosity arising within children has always been a perpetual dilemma of parents. The real key to answer children’s curiosity satisfactorily is by the principle of selective sharing. Under selective sharing methodology, you load a child’s mind with only that much information which is essential for him to comprehend at that moment, while editing those pointers which he will eventually learn later in life. Not to forget at this age, child’s imagination is taking shape and hence feeding information should come with the vision of its further contemplation and expansion within child’s mind. It is as much important to nurture curiosity as to dampen irrelevant information clouding his consciousness. At this age, the information being sharing doesn’t end with satisfying the curiosity but this information creates a predilection within child’s mind for itself. Hence, under selective sharing only that information which matter at that time is essential. More than teaching sex education, it is important to equip children against child abuse. So it is important to train children self defense, educate them about different types of touch, inculcate intolerance to unfavorable approaches, etc. matter more than educating on mating and contraception.

Let our children play, sing, run, ponder, explore and enjoy their ever diminishing childhood before we cage them to become all knowing information captives.