ABSTRACT
As young children, what we first learn about sex, sexuality, and relationships is not from the chatter of peers or what is taught at school-it comes from the family in which we are raised. This early learning is not what we are taught in any formal sense-it comes from what we observe and overhear even before we start school. For example, the ways that affection is expressed by the people around us and the things that are acceptable to speak about and those that are foreclosed or shut down all convey messages. Refusing to acknowledge or speak about sex does not mean that children are not aware of it-they see and hear references to matters sexual everywhere. Even avoiding the subject altogether teaches children something about sex (Ballard & Gross, 2009).
