Abstract
This study involves a survey conducted to examine the actual conditions and problems of sex education at home as experienced both by parents and children. Four hypotheses were put forth in this study :1) The content of guidance on menstruation given to daughters is fragmentary; 2) There is a tendency that sons are given little sex education; 3) There is a tendency, in children's perception, to make light of education of males on sex, and only fragmentary guidance given to females on menstruation; 4) There are gaps between the parents' recognition and children's perception, and the gap becomes larger when it comes to the consultation about sexual troubles and anxieties from children. The survey was carried out in 1995 on junior high school students and their parents, or, to be exact, 188 pairs of fathers and mothers as well as 142 male and 123 female students were sampled.
The results were as follows :
Many of the mothers have given their daughters guidance on menstruation a few times but the content of the guidance is mainly on the treatment of menstruation. The guidance on various aspects of menstruation is not used efficiently for sex education. Almost all of the fathers have not given guidance on ejaculation. Neither mothers nor fathers have sufficient conversations with their sons about sexual matters. The characteristics seen in the parents' recognition concerning sex education at home are found similarly in the children's perception as well. Many of the parents thought that they had been consulted about sexual troubles and anxieties by their children, but few of the children thought that they had consulted with their parents on such matters.
