Talk The Talk Research Paper

Talk the Talk or Walk the Walk Puberty and sex are precarious words in today’s society. Parents, teachers, and children cautiously talk about these topics. Controversy reins over the talk of puberty and sex. How, when, and by whom children should be taught often leads the controversy. Most parents often think that their children should learn from their parents when the parents deem the time is right. Most children, on the other hand, think they should learn on their own and through others’ experiences. Both viewpoints are reasonable, but both are not the best way to handle the topics of sex and puberty. Children have the right to be able to learn about sex and puberty through their own experiences as well as others’ at their own pace. Friendships are a vital portion of the adolescent years. Learning about sex and puberty during these years can determine

According to Gina Teel’s piece about a childhood rape and abandonment, there are children who are raped as early as the age of three and a half years old (Teel 2016). These children do not know the significance of rape. They do not realize that what has happened to them is wrong. Many keep quiet for years because they are not educated on the topic of sex and puberty and how rape relates to these topics until the rape has already happened. For those children who do report rape, they are educated on sex and puberty at a time that they understand how big of a problem rape is in today’s society. The little girl’s story from Teel’s piece shows that children as young as nine years old are old enough to learn about sex and puberty and how badly it can turn. This girl was able to use her knowledge about sex and puberty to tell her friend what happened to her and get the care she needed (Teel 2016). Sex and puberty are not always how they are depicted. Many cases like rape show how different sex and puberty are from how children are taught about