# Why do children need to be "protected from their own budding sexualities"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 7, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589 "2010-05-07T02:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/21 "2010-05-08T03:09:33Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > … had a closer appreciation fo sex from their herb animals, and there were a lot less “unusual” methods going about. I’m going to assume that an appreciation of sex from “herb” animals must not count as “unusual” in your book, and that the missionary position does. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/22 "2010-05-08T06:49:28Z")
> [@](#): > > ut is it really that bad for a kid’s mental health, to be exposed to that aspect of adult life? Well I would think it would depend on how you did it. But overall kids are really immature. They’re not “little adults” I think if you did it in a healthy way… like " adults have sex to show each other they care very very deeply" But the most mature of kids (meaning little kids) have a junior high idea of sex/realtionships. Remember that? You picked someone you liked and they were your boyfriend/girlfriend? Sex is wonderful and a good thing. You shouldn’t be so warped as to have a “Carrie’s Momma” view of sexuality. But at the same time, exposing kids to a Yah Dude view of sexuality would give them fucked up idears about sex roles and the idea that men are entitled to sex no matter what. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/23 "2010-05-08T07:00:04Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > It wasn’t unheard of in pioneer communities for girls to be married off when they were 12-14. But would she be married to another 14-year old? I’m wagering it’s more likely she’d be married to a 40-yo man than a 14-yo. So that kicks the “natural age” argument out the door, IMO, and brings us right back to just a particular cultural quirk - patriarchal oppression of women. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/24 "2010-05-08T09:42:47Z")
I just did some reading on this - children did often get married soon after puberty, but puberty also came later in childhood. According to [this cite](http://www.faqs.org/childhood/A-Ar/Adolescence-and-Youth.html): > [@](#): > > Advances in nutrition and disease control quickened the process of sexual maturation. In the mid-eighteenth century the average age of menarche in America occurred at over sixteen; it dropped to just over fifteen by the end of the nineteenth century, but fell to twelve years and nine months by the end of the twentieth century. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/25 "2010-05-08T10:03:31Z")
From the above link - > [@](#): > > European scientists researched aspects of physical growth such as the onset of MENARCHE in females and seminal emission among males. I doubt scientists would get a grant for such studies these days? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/26 "2010-05-08T21:07:51Z")
> [@puddleglum](#): > > Of course children need to be protected from their own budding sexualities. The dangers of sex are myriad, STD, pregnancy, rapes, emotional damage. Sounds like they need to be shed of ignorance about their budding sexualities. > [@](#): > > The adolescent brain is not ready for sex even though the adolescent hormones are. Sex before 16 can be very damaging to the long term emotional and sexual health. From 17 to 19 it is less damaging and after that the brain seems to be ready. It’s quite difficult to say what is actually damaging, and what stems from the pointless social stigma attached to it. > [@](#): > > Porn is different in that for most teenagers can handle it and use it as a substitute for sex. However exposure to porn for younger children is damaging. I am a big fan of Loveline the radio show and most of the callers were young people whose lives had been damaged by premature sex or sexual abuse. Well, now you got me curious for anecdotes of damage stemming from premature sex. I’d like to know in how many of these cases the participants only started feeling bad when other people said they should. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/27 "2010-05-09T05:09:40Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d like to know in how many of these cases the participants only started feeling bad when other people said they should. Oh GAWD. Sorry, but something like an adult taking advantage of a younger kid is just WRONG no matter how you paint it. Most sexual abuse like that involves an older person manipulating and twisting a younger kids emotions. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/28 "2010-05-09T09:15:31Z")
If a child above the age of criminal responsibility says to Uncle Fred “Look at me, I’m naked. Shall we have some sex?”, technically, wouldn’t they be guilty of aiding and abetting a crime? Perhaps if some of those “dirty” kids were charged as well, it might send a message out to youngsters? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/29 "2010-05-09T21:50:52Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’m going to assume that an appreciation of sex from “herb” animals must not count as “unusual” in your book, and that the missionary position does. 😃 Herd animals, sorry. Although , would sex with Herb Animals count as Veggiality? Seriously, though, humans were pretty close to animals for a lot of our history, with pets, workbeats, or aniamls raised for meat. People get to know the facts of life _real_ quick on a farm, although parents often try to have a little privacy for their special time no matter how hard it si to find. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/30 "2010-05-09T22:31:56Z")
> [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](#): > > Oh GAWD. Sorry, but something like an adult taking advantage of a younger kid is just WRONG no matter how you paint it. > Most sexual abuse like that involves an older person manipulating and twisting a younger kids emotions. If you’ll look at my post carefully, you’ll see that I’m quoting someone who is concerned about “young people whose lives had been damaged by premature sex or sexual abuse”, and I asked specifically about the damage of “premature sex”, not abuse. I don’t equate the two and I suspect you might have jumped the gun there. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_Stimulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589/31 "2010-05-09T23:19:35Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > If you’ll look at my post carefully, you’ll see that I’m quoting someone who is concerned about “young people whose lives had been damaged by premature sex or sexual abuse”, and I asked specifically about the damage of “premature sex”, not abuse. I don’t equate the two and I suspect you might have jumped the gun there. Not only that, but the population group is [Loveline](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loveline). Doncha think that’s a strongly flawed self-selecting sample from which to draw any conclusions? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-need-to-be-protected-from-their-own-budding-sexualities/538589.md?page=1)