How to teach sexual and affective education?
Talking about affective-sexual education at home can feel uncomfortable because many parents have not received this kind of training, so it is important to prepare for it. We live in a highly sexualized society that, rather than being only a problem, offers everyday opportunities to start conversations with children. Taking advantage of daily situations to talk naturally, educate, and support children in understanding affection and sexuality is a wonderful opportunity to care for our families.
Adolescents, Sexuality and Pornography
Affective-sexual education should take place within the family, especially during adolescence, a stage when communication with children can become more difficult. Even if teenagers seem to distance themselves, they still need their parents as role models to understand relationships, emotions, and sexuality. For this reason, parents are encouraged to maintain open dialogue, build trust, and accompany their children with naturalness and closeness throughout this stage of growth.
Sex education and how to treat it
Affective-sexual education consists of teaching children how to love and be loved, as this ability is key to their happiness. The family is the main place where this is learned, although parents often find it difficult to talk about these topics because they did not receive this kind of education themselves. Affective-sexual education begins in the earliest years of life, through affection, attachment, and the way parents respond to children’s questions and needs.
The role of grandparents
The role of grandparents is not to spoil children, but to complement parents with unconditional love, calm, and emotional support. Parents are the “architects” of personality, while grandparents are the “gardeners of the soul,” passing on roots, traditions, values, and historical perspective. Their role is to collaborate with respect and freedom, serving as an emotional refuge for grandchildren and valuable support for parents.
The authority of grandparents
Grandparents are secondary but essential actors in the family, and their authority is exercised best by supporting and reinforcing the parents’ authority with firmness, consistency, and affection. But should they intervene with their grandchildren? Only when necessary, following the specific guidelines of the parents, without undermining or replacing their educational role, and using love and experience to guide. The presence of grandparents strengthens security and builds emotional bonds that complement family life and the personal history of each child.
