Sex Education Will Begin In First Grade For Ontartio Schools

Ontario, Canada schools are going to begin teaching sex ed in first grade. It's the first change to the health curriculum since 1998 and it's getting mixed reviews. Some feel the change is long overdue while others feel the new curriculum introduces sexual material at too young an age.

Education Minister Liz Sandals says, ''The world had changed a lot in the last 15 years. Concepts such as smartphones, SnapChat and sexting were not familiar to anyone, let alone students. Today, we live in a digital and interconnected world where information is literally at our fingertips around the clock. Students have instant access to quite explicit information from unreliable, inaccurate and often offensive sources. This is why it's so important to ensure that our children have the right information.''

First graders will learn the proper names for body parts. Sam sex relationships will be discussed in third grade and fourth graders will talk about sexting.

Protesters to the change, that takes effect in September, took to Queens Park. One parent said, "sex is for adults. Childhood is for kids."

The anti-sexEDprotest grows in size and decibels. Loud chants can be heard thru QParkwindows #onpoli pic.twitter.com/S6NqULhuiG
— Paul Bliss (@blissblogs) February 24, 2015

So this is the type of person protesting our new sex-Ed curriculum, huh? Better take her seriously pic.twitter.com/oTpccbYSIQ #onpoli #onted
— Dave Fraser (@d_phrase) February 24, 2015

Former Premier Dalton McGuinty introduced the same changes five years ago, but the curriculum was never implemented after public outcry. But the opposition has dwindled over the years as many admit changes need to be made to move into the 21st century.

An online petition has over 20,00 signatures to stop the updated health curriculum that protesters feel "is just one more step in the radical 'mission-creep' of government towards taking the moral formation of children out of the hands of parents, and putting it into the hands of the state."

But how do the students feel about the change? The opposite of the protesting parents.

Would you rather your child learn about their bodies from the internet, friends or in a classroom from their teacher? Yes, parents should teach their children the important issues in life, but lets be honest, some don't. What do you think? Should sex education begin in first grade or is the material inappropriate at such a young age?

Get the full health curriculum broken down grade by grade at TheStar.com.