A few weeks ago my six year old daughter attended a presentation on sexual health at her school, put on by Saleema Noon. Yesterday the presentation paid its first dividend. My daughter and her friends found a used condom in the schoolyard. Recognizing what it was, they called a teacher who had it removed. While waiting for the teacher, another kid picked up the condom and insisted it was a balloon, against the protests of his classmates, and proceeded to play with it. Trust me when I say I am grateful my six year old sees a condom to avoid, rather than a balloon to play with. Early education in sexual health is a good thing.
And they think so in Bali too:
Balinese teenagers, said the Doctor, preferred to have information and
advice about sex to come from their teachers, rather than their
parents, not surprisingly, and so Murjana urged that sex education be
adopted as part of the national school curriculum, and not only taught
in the biology classes of the science stream (IPA) at senior high
school as at present. Such education should begin at junior high
school, he added.