Sex education should begin as early as age 10: Research

In order to curb unwanted early pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and sexually transmitted diseases (STD), parents should shed their inhibition and talk about sexual matters to their children as young as age 10, says a study.

The kids should be exposed to sex education programmes at the very beginning of puberty, said researchers from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

"The parents and educators often feel hesitant to talk about sexual and reproductive health to young adolescents, because they fear it will encourage them to engage in sexual behaviour," said Victoria Jennings, director of the institute for reproductive health at Georgetown University.

The sexual health programmes must be implemented at a time when adolescents are still malleable and relatively free of sexual and reproductive health problems and gender role biases, she stressed.

Sexuality begin emerging in younger adolescents between 10 to 14.

"If kids are not well versed about the fact of safe sex especially in lower- and middle-income countries where sexual health programmes are not in much use, they may take uncalled for and fatal risks," researchers warned.