Sex and Sensibility: The Thinking Parent's Guide to Talking Sense About Sex - Hardcover

Roffman, Deborah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738202932 ISBN 13: 9780738202938

Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2000

Synopsis

How young is too young to talk with children about sex and reproduction? Are we clear as adults about the meaning of the words "sex" and "sexuality," or "gender" and "sexual orientation"? Do we know what we want our children to think and value about sexuality, and how to combat unhealthy cultural influences?With a rare directness and clarity about these profoundly important issues, nationally recognized sexuality educator Deborah Roffman challenges and teaches readers to develop a blueprint for opening the lines of communication with children of all ages. Raising sexually healthy children requires that we master what Roffman identifies as five core parenting skills: we must affirm our children's emerging sexuality; provide accurate sexual information; demonstrate the connection between values and action; set safe and healthy limits; and provide constant and effective anticipatory guidance. Powerfully instructive on how to talk in ways that will be meaningful to kids, Sex and Sensibility will help parents confidently interpret and comfortably respond to virtually any question a child might pose or any situation that arises.

About this title

Review:

Is there any topic more controversial than the sexual education of our children? Parents worry about telling too much or not enough, schools are restricted in what they're allowed to discuss, and kids are filled with a combination of surprising misinformation and depressing detail on disease without ever having been taught about the possible benefits and enjoyment of feeling comfortable with their bodies. Deborah Roffman, a longtime teacher of sexual education for both children and adults, has assembled a thorough book that attempts to address moral and physical issues for every age. The Thinking Parent's Guide to Talking Sense About Sex is decidedly not for those whose sex speech begins and ends with "just say no." Roffman's take on sexual education is that it is a lifelong exploration that should encompass changing cultural values and an individual's personally evolving ethics as well as the practical facts of proper health care. Put plainly in one section's title, "sexuality is about people, not body parts." Including a discussion of gender roles and history, and appropriate levels of information for everyone from toddlers to teens, Roffman attempts to cover all the bases with a mix of theory, historical perspective, personal stories from her own classrooms and kids, and practice questions and situations that parents can eventually expect from their children. Breaking down this complicated subject, she identifies five core needs that all questions fall under: affirmation, information giving, values clarification, limit setting, and anticipatory guidance. This last category relates to parents' ultimate goal of making themselves "dispensable," secure in the knowledge that their children have been raised with all the information needed to make the right decisions for themselves--decisions that will result in a sexual health that blends their emotions, minds, and bodies with ultimate success. --Jill Lightner

About the Author:

Deborah Roffman, MS, is a nationally Certified Sexuality and Family Life Educator who has worked at the cutting edge of her field for nearly three decades. The assistant editor for education of the Journal of Sex Education and Therapy, Roffman has been featured in the New York Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Education Week, and USA Today. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0738202932
• ISBN 13: 9780738202938
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288