can kissing make you pregnant? why parents should talk to their children about sexual health

Sex is one of the most tabooed topics of conversation in our country. A mention of the world and suddenly the ceiling of the room, something on our phones or our textbooks becomes the most interesting thing in the world so that we do not have to look eye to eye and address the elephant in the room. However, the taboo and stigma around the topic may be costing us more than just some family conversations.

Ignorance about sexual knowledge can have serious repercussions, some that you may not have even imagined as parents. While the debate goes on about if sex education should be a part of the syllabus being taught to students, you must not forget that a child's parents are in fact his/her first teachers. The conversation needs to start at home for your child to be able to understand it in school if it does become a part of the teaching syllabus.

Why do you need to teach your child about sexual health?
The first and most important reason for you to talk to your child about sexual health is to break the taboo and the stigma around the issue. Children find the topic a very difficult issue to address and discuss in front of their parents. Parents need to set examples for other parents to talk to their kids about sex and sexual health to ensure they do not get themselves in trouble later, and if they do, can at least talk to them about it and seek their help.



A recent post by a practising doctor revealed that a 17-year-old girl had visited her and told her she indulged in sexual activity with her boyfriend and panicked, and therefore took a pill. On talking to the teenager further, the doctor found out that she had no idea how the sexual activity takes place, had no clue what a male sexual organ looks like, and had just kissed her boyfriend and thought that will get her pregnant. She kept apologizing to the doctor and kept assuring her that it was just one time and she will never repeat it. This incident brings to light even more reasons why parents need to talk to their children about sexual health.

The teenager felt apologetic because she thought she had committed a crime and was scared she will get pregnant. If she was not so ignorant about sexual health, she would not have taken the pill. Such contraception without the doctor's advice can lead to more health complications and cause serious trouble for your child in the future. Lack of knowledge about sexual activities and health can also lead to serious diseases that are sexually transmitted. Unprotected sex can cause pregnancy and also problems in the menstrual cycle.