It is important that people who guide the children and working with them have basic knowledge on the development of sexuality from infancy to adolescence. Although the vast majority of children do not become sexually active (in the sense that we understand as an adult) before adolescence and they have no perception of themselves in terms sex, good nombredes components of sexual health and development are established during childhood.
To thrive, it is essential that all children learn to interact with others and show appropriate behavior in social perspective. These skills are not innate at birth. Young children are in the process of developing their sexual identity (the realization that they are either a boy or a girl) and the role assigned to each gender (adopting social characteristics specific to girls and boys). Children also deepen their understanding of relationships and values. In general, we do not perceive these issues as being related to sexuality, but these developmental milestones in early childhood are the cornerstone of development and evolution of sexuality during the transition from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to adulthood.
Parents and caregivers of children indirectly teach sexuality to infants and young children when they interact with them on several levels, including how they talk to them, pamper them and play with them. As children get older and develop relationships with family members and with their peers, they continue to learn about sexuality. In addition, they learn a lot about sexuality simply by observing the interactions of people around them. Thus, when the terms "sexual behavior of the child" and "infantile sexuality" are used, they are in a very broad context that branches in all aspects of growth and développementde the child and can help shape their sexuality in adolescence and adulthood.
Parents or the person responsible for the child are first and foremost educators of the sexual health of children. For example, it is through interaction and learning with the person who cares for them as babies and young children develop their skills primarily to trust, their first notions of gender, gender relations and their sense of autonomy base. Moreover, it is important to recognize the fundamental role of staff garderieet of primary school teachers in sex education for children. In the child care community, young children will witness many interactions
Social and relevant learning opportunities that will contribute to knowledge and behavior in relation to gender and sexuality. Around the third year of primary education will be taught to many children of the important elements of sexuality, including healthy body image, safety personnelleet basic anatomy. Towards the end of elementary school or early high school, most of them will have at least learned something on a wide range of topics such as puberty, prevention of sexually transmitted infections, reproductive and pressure peers and others. It is importantpour educators to know that Canadian parents generally support strongly the role of schools in the sexual health education. About two thirds of parents agree that the sexual health education should be initiated at the primary level and beyond 95% of them agree that it is delivered in the late elementary or early high school.
The overview of development issues of sexual health and educational needs in sexual health in children who are exposed on this site is organized as follows: the age group of 0-12 years is divided into four age groups: 0-2 years, 2-5 years, 5-8 years, 9-12 years. We must consider several elements in referring to these age groups. First, although there are general trends associated with age regarding the development of sexuality in children, all age categories of demarcation is arbitrary to some extent. The achievement of developmental milestones is often gradual and, in many cases, is not accomplished by specific steps. Then, as in other areas of development, the pace and nature of development related to sexuality vary widely from child to child. Therefore, although the four age groups used here are practical and useful as they show the basic trends of development of sexuality in children, they should not be interpreted as rigid demarcations of progress of developing. In other words, there will be considerable overlap between age groups in terms of expectations concerning the development of sexuality in children.
For each age group, an initial discussion highlights related to sexual development of children is provided. This is followed by a list of key issues of development, common behaviors, concerns and learning goals. Outcomes refer to the development stages of development related to sexuality (eg. Skills, knowledge, social skills) which can be expected in a child at any age. Common behaviors refer to behaviors related to sexuality that can be observed in children who are on the road to healthy sexual development. This leaves
not imply that a child must exhibit the behavior to be healthy, or that most or all children are necessarily behavior. This suggests that at least one rather hear many children exhibit this behavior, which is considered healthy for children of this age group. Concerns refer to the signs, symptoms or behaviors that suggest a child may be late in the development of sexuality, it needs an extra sex education, it requires an assessment by a professional children's health, as a pediatrician, or that requires evaluation in terms of sexual abuse. The learning objectives refer to the areas related to sexuality that can address parents, caregivers and teachers in order to support healthy sexual development in children.