Reality frights

Despite the reservations of parents, teen magazine columnist Jin Xuan said she believes children are more than willing to learn.

As an agony aunt for Intimate Sister, she receives hundreds of letters every month from girls and boys aged 12 to 14 about various questions relating to sex. Many are confused about their changing bodies, others are worried about sex dreams and some ask about homosexuality.

"Some have told me they like to be friends with the same sex more than the opposite sex, and are worried it is a sign of being gay," said the columnist. "That's a result of unguided self-learning."

For Jin, the information available about sex and sexual health is not too little, but too much. She warned: "Young children who lack good judgment could be misled."

Children need to understand about their bodies and the differences between gender before they enter primary school, as well as a wholesome understanding of sex before leaving junior high at about 15, suggests Jin.

An official survey of 2,500 students at 31 high schools in Beijing last March showed almost 0.5 percent in junior high and 2.29 percent in senior high have had sex.

The reality is that "teenage girls are getting pregnant and high school girls are having abortions", said Peng Yuhua, deputy director of the capital's commission of population and family planning. Work is under way for guidelines on sex education at Beijing's primary and high schools.

"(Lessons) should not just focus on sex, though," said Zhang Meimei at the Sexual Health Education Institute, who is helping draft the guidelines. "The purpose of education should be to help boys and girls grow up into wholesome men and women with the abilities to deal with relationships and marriages."

At Beijing's No 171 High School, a top institution, sex education teacher Sun Dongjun explained her classes are already focused largely on relationships.

"I think sex should be mentioned (in class), but it depends on the school's situation," she said. "As most of our students study hard and are well behaved, it may not be necessary to go into too much detail."