United States : Lessons for 4-year-old children about sex and AIDS prevention!

The Post reported that kindergartens in New York City teach sex education and the ABCs of avoiding HIV infection.

The newspaper explained that the city’s HIV/AIDS curriculum, which was renewed in September, focuses on lessons for children between the ages of 4 and 5, within a book entitled “These are my eyes, and this is my nose, and this is my vulva, and these are my fingers.” My Feet,” by Brown James, a St. Louis-based sex educator and therapist.

The book says: "Some girls wear dresses, some don't. Some girls have vulvas and some don't. Some boys have penises and some don't."

He adds: "It's not a girl or a boy. So it's not him or her. To show you care, always use the word 'they'."

Lessons include the basics of recognizing HIV, which can lead to AIDS in the future. New York City has responded to this type of state-mandated class, funded in part by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

“It's very inappropriate,” said Natalia Murakhver, an Upper West Side mother and co-founder of the nonprofit Restore Childhood.

She added: "This is graphic content. If it is presented, I think it should be presented at home, not in schools."

One kindergarten mother in Brooklyn received a notification last week that her 5-year-old would be taking lessons, and was given no option to opt out.

“It makes me nervous,” the mother says, “because if they go into this much detail in kindergarten, what will it be like in third or fourth grade?”

In first grade, children learn that HIV can be transmitted through the blood or body fluids of an infected person.

Second graders learn about blood and medications, and by third grade, students are expected to be able to “summarize what HIV is and identify the ways it can and cannot be transmitted.”

Fourth graders learn that HIV can be transmitted specifically through unclean needles used for drugs or tattoos and sexual contact.

The US Department of Education announced the new K-12 curriculum in September, the first update to the material since 2012.

“This new HIV curriculum includes direct feedback from teachers and our student focus groups, is grounded in equity and anti-bias, and is aligned with social and emotional learning competencies,” Schools Chancellor David Banks said at the time.

Banks emphasized that it reflects “a commitment to student health and well-being, inclusivity and respect, and access to quality sexual health education.”