Conducted by the McCreary Centre Society every 5 years since 1992, over 168,000 students in Grades 7–12 have completed the AHS. In 2018, 58 of the 60 BC school districts participated and the survey was completed by 38,015 Grade 7-12 students. To see the full report on...
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13 Things You Should Know About Your Vagina
I was recently invited a fun evening event for women and was honoured to be one of a few speakers on sexuality, health and wellness. Not surprisingly, I decided to present on my favourite body part to talk about: THE VAGINA! The vagina is such a mystery organ. So many...
Let’s Talk Transgender (An excerpt from Talk Sex Today, by Saleema Noon)
People ask me questions about gender almost everyday. Kids want to know “How does the doctor know if it’s a boy or a girl?” and “What if a boy wants to be a girl?” Understandably, parents want to increase their understanding of gender so that they can answer their...
Talking Sex With Your Teen
Some parents, not surprisingly, are afraid to address sex in a positive way with their teens for fear that if we make sex sound too good, every teen will be doing it ten times a week. Not true. Within the context of giving life-saving safety information, we need to emphasize at every opportunity that sex is a good thing.
Straight Answers to Sticky Questions
For males, an orgasm involves semen (the fluid that carries sperm) being ejaculated from the penis. After ejaculation, the body relaxes and the penis goes back to its usual size. For females, an orgasm involves contractions of the muscles around the vagina, and...
A Straight Answer to a Sticky Question
At the end of my evening sessions, parents often approach me privately to ask questions they “wouldn’t dare” ask in front of the group. Most of these have to do with questions their children have asked, but they have no idea how to answer. And who can blame them? Our...
Celebrating the “Super Unique” on Pink Shirt Day
I remember when I first started teaching 18 years ago, just mentioning the word “gay” in a grade 6 or 7 class would bring on swarms of laughter, snickering and barfing noises from students. But thanks in part to national awareness campaigns like Pink Shirt Day we’ve come a long way in the past decade when it comes to people understanding that homophobia isn’t OK.
Consent is Sexy
Parental consent for a fieldtrip. Informed consent to participate in a study. We throw the word consent around without thinking about it too much, but what about sexual consent? What is it and what do we need to teach our kids about it?
Postcards From the Edge: Virginity
Students are asking me less and less often about virginity because we don’t use the term that often these days. But because it still comes up every now and then in the classroom, let’s discuss.
Sex Talk? No Sweat.
Ok parents, school’s back in session which means our kids’ inquiring minds are back in action. Awesome. Before you worry about exactly what to say, here are some tips to help you normalize the topic of sexual health in your home and establish yourself as your kids’ number one source of information for years to come.