What can we do to help our children understand the difference between making love and having sex?

It was shocking and sad for me to realise that young boys today identify with girls in their class through pornography. With easy access to the internet, very young children today can see very explicit sexual acts without understanding what to make love means. To make love is very different than to make sex, but few children are educated to understand this difference. Yet, this ignorance lies at the core of why females are subjected to discrimination, often harassment and sometimes danger. Our children have never had the innocence of those of an earlier time, so it is vital for their mental health and so the health of our societies that we teach children to understand the meaning of respect, compassion and love before they think of sex.  

This topic is very cultural and so different educators will think upon it in largely different ways, but because our children will increasing move about the world and so need to more readily fit in with the exceptions of different peoples, it is important that teachers can openly share thoughts in how to better deal with this increasing problem.

I discuss the toxic world of the child today in "The Illusion of Education”.