Sergei and Olivia, Emma’s parents, have heard that a worker from the Planning familial would be invited in their daughter’s class to teach sex education. They got worried, Emma is only in CM2  – “What will the children be taught?”, “Aren’t they too young?”, “Isn’t it a subject for families rather than school?” they wondered…

Emma’s parents talked of their fears with the teac her. She told them that the purpose was for children to better understand how their bodies work and that the others have to respect them. She also said it was a way to get them ready for the changes that they will go through at puberty.

“We start by telling them a story and we give them the possibility to ask all their questions. At that age, they have many! We answer with simple words and we always take their age into consideration. They must understand that this subject is not taboo, that they can discuss it between them or with adults they trust. With our answers, we try to avoid that they go look for inappropriate, shocking or false information on the internet. We are first and foremost trying to protect them”.

At the end, the presentation at school made it easier to discuss the subject at home, without feeling ashamed. With hindsight, Sergei and Olivia see sex education positively: school is a good place to talk about sexuality in an educational way and in a safe environment. With all the pornographic videos on social media, they are happy to know that their daughter is armed!

To go further 

Learning French

• « Qu’est-ce qu’ils vont bien pouvoir dire aux enfants ? », « Est-ce qu’ils ne sont pas trop jeunes ? »… Do you know how to build a question in French? Review the possible structures and train here
• “Elle leur a expliqué”, “ils en ont beaucoup”, “nous leur répondons”… “leur” and “en” are possessive pronouns and replace nouns. To know when and how to use them and to train, click here

Discovering more about the subject

• Your child is going to school in France and you want to know more about the French school system? The SamSam, the foreigners’ guide to France, will tell you everything about French school!

Video

Children often have many questions about their bodies. Listen to a mom and a teacher speaking!