‘Where do babies come from?’ Barriers to early sexuality communication between parents and young children

Abstract

‘Where do babies come from?’ ‘Why do boys have willies?’ ‘What does gay mean?’ Probably all parents have faced such ‘innocent’ questions from young children, and many have found them challenging to answer. Access to sexuality education at an early age is frequently considered controversial; however, there are strong indications that early and open communication can impact positively in terms of sexual safety and outcomes. Using focus group discussions with parents of 3–7 year olds in the UK, this study explores some of the challenges parents report in dealing with early sexual socialisation as well as the reasons they cite for restricting young children's sexual awareness and access to knowledge. Thematic analysis reveals a number of barriers to communication: the need to protect childhood ‘innocence’, suitable timing and age appropriateness of explanations, personal discomfort, and fear of criticism and judgement.

Keywords:

• sexual communication
• early childhood
• family interaction
• parent–child relations
• UK

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to all the people who agreed to take part in this study. This work was carried out as part of the requirements of a master's in health psychology degree by the third author, under the supervision of the second author.

Notes

^1. All names are pseudonyms.