How to talk to children & young people about sex & relationships
On sale 24th September.
When it comes to talking to children and young people about sex and relationships, it is difficult to know what to say. How do you answer their questions? How much is too much? And what is age appropriate?
I am very lucky in my job that I spend a lot of my time talking to children and young people of all ages about these topics – often this is the stuff that parents and teachers don’t often get to hear. Indeed, the majority of the training I deliver is based around passing on what young people tell me in our conversations.
And this is where this book fits in.
“Jonny Hunt knows his stuff. For years he’s given dynamic sex- education lessons to children and young people. Now, to bring adults up to speed, he has transcribed his down-to-earth approach into this informative, big-hearted, open-minded book…”
— Leah Jewett Outspoken Sex Ed
Each chapter will tackle a different topic. We will explore the current debates, research evidence, practice experience, why it’s important, and how it fits in with young people’s lives today. But like all good sex education it should also be fun too. Along the way I will share lots of anecdotes, conversations with young people, their parents, and the professionals who work with them. There will be small exercises, activities and thought experiments to keep you busy along the way.
My intention in this book is to make sure that you are better informed, of not only the issues and research in each topic – but most importantly, you get to hear the voice of young people and what they say when the adults are not around.
Regardless of whether the children in your life are teens or toddlers, the information in the following chapters will be relevant. As the safe adults we can be modelling good behaviour and showing our children that we are available regardless of their age. If we want our children to talk to us we need to build the foundations first and show that the door is open.
So let this be the sex education you wish you had when you were young…
“Jonny brings a conversational and reassuring tone to tackle all aspects of relationships and sex education, from early conversations with very young children to the more mature areas such as pornography and teen sexting. It will give readers the confidence to engage with these issues in a fact-based and young person-focussed manner…
— Andy Phippen, Professor of Digital Responsibility
