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Sex education books break down barriers
性别教育教材冲破牢笼

Students mark red for private parts and green for areas that can be touched at a sex education lesson at a primary school in Shanghai on October 24, 2011. [File photo]
2011年10月24日，上海某小学的性别教育课堂上，学生们在身体轮廓图上贴标签，可以触摸的部位贴绿的，不可以触摸的贴红的。

Early-age sex education has become increasingly necessary in China, as adolescence has started arriving earlier over the last decade, said Hu Ping, a sex educator in southwestern Chengdu city since 2001.	据2001年起就在成都开展试点的青少年性健康教育专家胡萍介绍，近10年间，中国少年儿童的青春期已大大提前，早期性教育因此日趋迫切。
A lack of appropriate sex knowledge has caused teenage pregnancy rates to rise in some cities, Hu said.	胡萍表示，缺乏恰当的性教育，导致了一些城市的少女怀孕率上升。
According to statistics from the Chinese Medical Association released in 2009, Chinese girls typically begin to enter adolescence around 9.2 years old, much earlier than the age of 12.5 years old that was common 30 years ago.	2009年，中华医学会公布的一项调查显示，我国女孩青春期发育年龄平均为9.2岁，比30年前的12.5岁提前了不少。
"Kids have more convenient access to sex-related things today. There are sexy models in street advertisements, condoms placed next to candies in supermarkets, intimate pictures on TV and all over the Internet. Parents are confused about how to tell their children about sex," said Liu Li, editor of For Children magazine.	“今天的孩子越来越多地接触到与‘性’相关的符号。街头广告上的性感女郎，超市收银台前和糖果摆在一起的安全套，电视里的男女亲热场面，还有互联网上散播的一切。究竟如何告诉孩子有关性的知识，家长们困惑很多。”《为了孩子》杂志社编辑刘丽说。
Schools should share the burden of sex education with parents, Hu said.	胡萍强调，学校应当与家长一起担当起性健康教育的重任。
"Parents have different backgrounds, which can lead to an uneven education. It might actually be worse for some of them to teach their children about sex, while schools can provide good education for every child," Hu said.	“家长们背景不同，带来的教育也会参差不齐。对于有些家长来说，给孩子讲授性健康知识没准会适得其反，但是学校就能给每个孩子都提供很好的教育。”胡萍说道。
Some of Hu's former students have entered universities. The cases Hu has followed show that children who have received early sex education have less anxiety about the subject than their peers, she said.	胡萍带过的学生有的已经上了大学。她跟踪了其中一些个案，结果显示，接受早期性教育的孩子面对这一话题时，不会像同龄孩子那样感到不安。
"We are not trying to encourage children to have sex, but to tell them that sex and love are good and beautiful things, and not dirty or taboo. Early education will help children to have more harmonious families in the future," said Xu Jing, one of the writers of "Boys and Girls."	“我们不是要教导孩子去过性生活，而是要堂堂正正告诉他们，性和爱情是美好的，不是肮脏的。这样的教育在低学龄期完成，更有利于儿童成年后的家庭和谐。”参与《男孩女孩》教材编纂的徐晶老师说。