Healthy Sexuality and Chastity

                Families and marriages are strengthened as all members gain an appropriate understanding of sexuality and why chastity is important.  Parents can help their children have healthy and happy marriages by appropriate and timely teaching of the purpose of sex and why it is a good thing between a man and a woman who are legally and lawfully married.

                This article by Julie de Azevedo Hanks, PhD, LCSW, and entitled “Healthy Sexuality and Chastity:  5 Ways to Teach Your Kids (Without Making ItAwkward)” has some good ideas for teaching children “the birds and the bees” naturally from the beginning of their lives.   “… my husband and I have used anatomically correct terms when talking about the human body, invited questions about birth and breastfeeding, talked about how babies are born, and have even gotten into a few specifics….” 

                The author continued by describing how she answered her eight-year-old daughter’s question:  “`But wait, Mom.  How on earth does the sperm get in there in the first place?’  I explained to her what happens to our bodies when sexual attraction and physical arousal take place and how the sperm gets into the uterus.  `Hmmmm, OK,’ she replied, pondering my answer.

                “I saw this as an opportunity to expound upon these ideas and explain not just the how of sexual intimacy, but the why as well.  So I continued.

                “`Sharing your heart and your body with someone in ways that feel really good allows you to continually create loving feelings in your relationship, and it’s part of what makes my relationship with your Dad so special land unique.’  We talked about how sharing your heart and your body with another person is a way to create a bond, and that our Heavenly Parents really want us to share our body with someone only after we have fallen in love and gotten married and made a covenant to love that person forever….”

                The author described her experience in these words:  “As we spoke about these weighty, yet sacred topics, I could sense she was beginning to ponder the significance of the power of procreation and sexual expression.

                “It was a beautiful and surprisingly not awkward conversation.  As a mom and therapist, I felt pleased and satisfied with how the conversation unfolded naturally, and how my daughter and I felt closer because of our discussion.  I was really happy that I could be the one to teach her about her amazing body, her power to express love in physical ways, and her potential to create a body for another person….”

                Parents who accept the responsibility to lovingly and appropriately teach their children about sexuality and chastity can strengthen their children against many of the temptations of youth and young adulthood.  When their family is strengthened and prepare, they will strengthen their community and their nation.