Talking about sex, especially in the Indian context, is considered dirty. Like Physical Health, sexual health should also be considered important in one’s life. Nowadays, children are so much exposed to internet usage, wherein they check out various things that parents don't even know what they are watching or exposed to. Parents discuss various other issues with their children, it is necessary to discuss sexual matters openly as well, so that they also feel free to communicate about their sexual needs with their parents.
Importance of Parent-child Communication
Parental communication with children about sex plays an important role for child’s sexual development, because of the following reasons:
1. Parents know their children best: It is often said that parents are the first educators of their children, as at home they learn through observations and family interactions. Children rely on their parents for the information about their environment, so as parents the responsibility is to guide their children with age-appropriate sources of information, therefore, good communication between parents and children about sexuality enables them to build self-esteem and create a trustworthy environment.
2. Parents can counter any of the misinformation about sexuality: Children can gather information from their peers, if open environment for sexual related information is not provided to them or no information is provided to them, sometimes children also try to reconfirm from their peers, thus, the accuracy and tone of sexual health information affects their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors towards sex. Parents, all the time, cannot prevent their children from consuming or assessing wrong information, as this becomes more difficult as the child is growing, therefore, the parents from the start discuss the sexual aspects.
3. Parental communication has future benefits: Communication about sexuality with parents, is possible when there is a close relationship with them, that is, then only a child can communicate freely with their parents regarding sexuality. Communicating about sexuality can have a positive impact on children's mental health, which can be beneficial for their future.
Barriers to Parent-Child Communication
Parents are the direct source of information for their children, in case of Sexuality there may be some of the barriers that they need to tackle up:
1. Embarrassment and Lack of Knowledge: Parents do communicate with their children about sexuality, but there are certain topics on which they may feel embarrassed or sometimes feel that they lack knowledge related to sex, which may sometimes lead to changes in attitudes and behavior of an individual.
2. Role of gender: Gender sometimes affects the type of communication. Traditionally, the role of the mothers was to talk with the daughter and fathers to son or in some cases mothers were expected to take the entire responsibility for these discussions. Researchers concluded that parents have reported that they are often more likely to have these conversations with daughters rather than sons, and more cautious as well as it becomes more stereotypical also.
3. Cultural Barriers: Most common barrier, as in our society talking about sex is dirty. These barriers, therefore, restrict sexual communication. Sometimes, there is a generational gap as well, which sometimes restricts communication.
How to support good quality Parental Communication?
Quality of parental communication plays an important role in a child's mental health. Support can be provided in the form of:
1.Role of Parents: Parents play an important role in a child's mental health. Communicating about the sexual aspects, is important as to provide them with an opportunity for an open communication related to any matters.
2.Role of Schools: Schools also play an important role for providing the children a free and open environment to communicate about their sexual matters as well as sexual feelings with whomever they feel comfortable with.
Conclusion
Communication with parents related to Sexuality, is an important aspect for good mental health, especially for children. We at Solh Wellness; work to provide people with proactive mental health solutions before their situation worsens. To proactively support your mental health, try out several techniques and make self-care a priority in your daily life. Download the Solh Wellness App to start experiencing the transformation.
