News Update Popcom designs education plan for parents

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur - The Region 9 office of the Commission on Population (Popcom-9) has designed a program that provides relevant information to parents on children's sexuality, it was learned here. Popcom-9 information officer Cecil J. Abuy said the agency prepared a Learning Package on Parent Education (LPPE) on Adolescent Health and Youth Development to serve as an instrument that will augment their knowledge on children's sex and sexuality. Abuy said that while Popcom acknowledges the significant role played by schools in providing sex education to children, it considers the parents as frontliners in teaching their own adolescents on the delicate subject. Popcom, she said, has noted that many rural and urban parents are not ready to answer children's questions on sex and sexuality, which has often led some youngsters to engage in risky sexual behaviors including pre-marital sex. The LPPE covers several modules that help parents cope with issues on dealing with themselves and their teenage children, Abuy said, adding that the initial module covers the subject "Me as a parent" to reintroduce parents the meaning of their life as parents.