Healthy Young People Sexual Development and Consent.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR 1-DAY EVENT - ADELAIDE

Have you ever thought about how your family taught you about sex when you were a kid, and do you want to parent the same, or do you want to parent differently?

In our over-sexualised society and with such easy access to pornography, it's more important than ever that we normalise open and positive conversations.

These conversations start with you.

Your adolescent may not always make the choices, but research shows that they respect themselves and others when values, attitudes, and beliefs are modelled and discussed in the home.

Showing them how to create safety around themselves, their bodies, and the exploration stage of their sexuality is more important than trying to stop the process altogether.

Consent is so much more than merely saying 'yes' and 'no'.

Let's have a chat and keep our children safe.

Don't let porn be your child's sex educator.

Young people often see pornography by accident rather than purposely seeking it out. The most frequent consumers of pornography are young heterosexual males aged between 12 and 17. 99% of Year 9 boys have seen pornography. As the sex in pornography is not real sex, it can distort a child's view of what is natural and respectful and distort long-term intimate relationships.

It can make you think that sex is only about pleasure and instant gratification and not intimacy. As most pornography shows physical aggression, children can believe that sex can also involve violence and a lack of consent. That people and genitals should look a certain way. Oral sex is seen as foreplay (and not sex), and sex and anal sex should be made available to males on demand.

We need to educate our teens to have genuine relationships that are fulfilling emotionally and sexually by connecting with the fact that sex is so much more than entertainment.