| By Amelia Tan , Theresa Tan and Yeo Sam Jo | ||
 |  | Most parents, they said, are simply not comfortable discussing the birds and the bees with their children. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE |
PSYCHOLOGISTS, counsellors and other experts on Friday welcomed tighter checks by the Education Ministry on sexuality education programmes in schools, but said more attention should be paid to two weak links in the system: parents and teachers.
Most parents, they said, are simply not comfortable discussing the birds and the bees with their children. What is worse is that many simply abdicate responsibility, and tell their children to get answers from teachers instead.
They added that teachers need more training to overcome the awkwardness many feel about discussing sex in class.
Said Madam Evelyn Khong, a manager and family life educator at Fei Yue Community Services, a group that holds sexuality education classes for students: 'Parents are uncomfortable talking about sex because they were taught by their parents not to talk about it. They don't understand sex fully, and think it's only about making babies.
'But sex is much more than that; it's an emotional, physical and psychological thing.'
Singapore Planned Parenthood Association president Edward Ong agreed, calling it a 'generational problem'.
Several parents interviewed admitted as much. Housewife Pricillia Ting, 44, who has two daughters aged 11 and 13, said: 'They are so young, they may not understand what sex is and may even get the wrong idea.'
Experts noted that this leads to the very situation Education Minister Ng Eng Hen said on Thursday should be avoided: Curious children turning to sources like the Internet and their friends for answers, and sometimes ending up with wrong solutions.
Meanwhile, teachers interviewed - all did not want to be named - said they would welcome more training.
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