Empowering Parents to Educate Children about Their Sexual Health: Sexual Health Education in Utah

The topic of child empowerment through education is important. The challenges of raising children to become happy, healthy and productive members of society is difficult. One topic often overlooked is child sexual health. The purpose of this study was to address the need for parents to engage with their children about positive sexual health. The methods used to explore this topic was a focus group with follow-up interviews. The participants of the study were parents of children of all ages. Through analysis of the focus group, four themes emerged as being important to these parents: "I'm building a foundation", Ages and Stages, "Where are you hearing those words?", and Framing our conversations. It was concluded that participants were concerned with how their children received information about sexual health and whether the information they were receiving was relevant. Their conclusion aligns with the research on sexual health education. With one in four girls and one in twenty boys being victims of sexual abuse by the time the turn 18, it is important to educate children about their rights regarding their own sexual health.