Talking sex and relationships in children’s ministry: Facebook Live
We're used to the idea of talking sex and relationships with youth - but should it be something we tackle in kids min?
This is a topic Rachel talked about for one of our Lunch with Rachel webinars for children’s, youth and families leaders – as well as sharing some of our email shenanigans here in the office!
You can watch her here and we’ve added short notes below.
Parents will generally expect sex and relationships education to be their role, and how and when they have conversations with their children will depend on many factors: the parents’ approach, the individual child, what’s happening around them.
In the light of this, there are two strands to children’s, families and youth leaders’ approach:
- How we lay the foundation for the sex and relationship talks
- How we equip parents to be confident in having those conversations
Laying the foundations within children’s ministry
There are four foundations we can lay with children:
- Engaging with the Biblical stories of love and sex.
- Teaching about guarding our heart gardens
- How we talk about romance
- Teach about healthy relationships
Equip parents to talk about sex and relationships
These are two ways to help parents:
- Share resources, start conversations, create spaces to talk about it
- Tie in with the youth ministry
Questions that Rachel answered:
When talking with children about Solomon, David, Jacob, who all have multiple wives and concubines. I get asked, by the older children (aged 8-11), why is it OK for them to have lots of relationships, but we can’t have more than one relationship. How would you advise to tackle this question with children?
There are different theological arguments around sex and when it’s appropriate. How would you recommend we teach parents the arguments around sex and when it’s appropriate in a balanced way, without making parents feel judged?
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