Controversial Swiss Sex Education 'Sex Box' for Kindergartners Sparks Heated Debate
A sexual education program rolled out by Swiss officials may have good intentions, but teaching young children about the pleasures of sex with the aid of a "sex box" was out of line, some critics contend.
In a previously published news story entitled "Swiss Kindergartners to be Taught About 'Pleasures of Sex' From a 'Sex Box'," readers of The Christian Post overwhelmingly disapproved of the Swiss program, calling it a sad sign of the times.
"Need we teach children so young? If their parents aren't teaching them yet it's probably because they're only FOUR YEARS OLD! At least wait until middle school to even begin teaching them about where babies come from, but you don't need to do it to such an ugly extent," wrote CP reader Jessica Dent.
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One top CP commenter, Ray Knitterman Whiting, took no issue with the sex education program.
"The goal of the program is good and intended to provide children information to help them say NO and to distinguish appropriate vs. inappropriate touching. Further the article indicates parents weren't doing the job, so SOMEbody has to help educate the children in their own defense."
Alex Mark Aufdemberge, another top CP commenter, wrote, "You can't teach sex education without teaching sexual ethics. Kind of like teaching people how to shoot a gun but not telling them what is okay to shoot and what isn't."
Aufdemberge went a step further, calling the Swiss sexual education program a product of the times.
He wrote, "We wouldn't need sex education if it weren't for the Sexual Revolution which has introduced so many new STD's. Funny how we didn't have problems like this 100 years ago when sex education was introduced on the wedding night."
The "sex boxes," meant to aid teachers in carrying out the program, include dolls, books, and various other material for children age four to 10. Some boxes, tailored to specific age groups, also include toys made to look like male and female genitalia.
A guide contained in the "sex boxes" encourages kindergarten teachers to "show that contacting body parts can be pleasurable," reports Swiss paper The Local. The publication also reports that the teaching guide recommends having children massage each other or to rub themselves with warm sand bags, while soft music plays.
The controversial Swiss education program, being implemented in the town of Basel at the elementary school level, has also riled parents.
In an interview with Swiss newspaper Blick, Basel education minister Christoph Eymann revealed that officials had received more than 3,000 letters of complaint sent in by parents who think the sex education program goes too far.
When asked about the program's aim of teaching children that "touch can be pleasurable," Eymann said the actual objective was to help children differentiate between good and bad touches.
"It's about protecting the sexual integrity of children," he said, adding that it was necessary for educators to do something to help prevent sexual violence against children by helping children protect themselves.
Eymann said that, unfortunately, the education of children on the subject of sex had been left to the schools since parents were not doing their jobs at home.
