According to a recent study by Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates, “Parents would rather talk to their kids about sex and drugs than about math and science, the survey of 561 parents found. More than half say they have trouble helping their kids with these subjects, and it gets more difficult as the students get older.” Comments on the New York Times blog Motherlode, some parents agree.
It’s not just math that parents are afraid of, but also science. I don’t see anything to be afraid of.
Sure, parents get tripped up as early as 5th grade math. They are convinced by schools that they don’t remember or that they were taught differently. If the parents aren’t intimidated by the kids math book, then the kids are dismissive of the math. While I agree that helping kids who think you are ‘stupid’ with math is intimidating, for me, the sex talk is alot more scary. After all, you can hire a tutor and use online math programs to help with math. Who are you going to call for help when your kid starts asking detailed sex questions?
While there are websites that will get parents up to par on helping kids learn about math and science, there is little help for nervous parents to talk about sex. I am not talking about opting into sex education classes in schools, but sitting down and having heart to heart talks with their kids. This is the thing that keeps me awake at night.
~If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
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