Parents Speak: Fathers’ and Mothers’ Perspectives on Sex Education

A study of Filipino parents with adolescent children ages 10-19 in two areas in the Philippines reveal the overwhelming negative attitude towards sex education which may explain the low level of sex education both at home and in schools. Many parents who do not discuss these matters feel that their adolescent children are still too young for such topics. Other feel a great deal of discomfort discussing topics which to them are too vulgar and embarrassing to discuss particularly with their own children. Many parents distrust sex education in school and would prefer giving sex education to their adolescent children although some of them admit they are not equipped to handle such matters effectively. Findings also demonstrate the significant gap between the time when the children exhibit readiness to open discussions on matters relating to sex and the time when parents think it is appropriate to start such discussions to take place. The good news is that parents are open to future intervention such as training on parenting that will among others equip them with better skills on how to better handle their adolescents’ sex education.