ANGELO PATRI SAYS Explain Sex to Children Sex does not lie dormant until a certain birthday. It is ever present in human life, from infancy on. When some evidence of this appears in a little child his parents are frightened. They fear he may be abnormal when he is actually quite normal. He is without adult inhibitions which sound instruction and good leadership, to say nothing of race customs, will soon set. Little children find their bodies interesting. They are likely to examine each other curiously. They are not driven by the creative sex impulse but by natural curiosity about the bodies of those of different sex. The little girl wants to know how the little boy looks and why he looks different from her; the boy has the same curiosity about the little girl. When this feeling is indicated the wise mother begins teaching the child about the care of his body, the need for privacy and good manners. She teaches the names of the parts of the body and says nothing of their functions unless required to do so. Curious children play the doctor game. The doctor has the duty of examining a patients body, of course. This game is played usually by the group between seven and nine. About his time the children have noticed the birth of pet animals and the coming of the new baby. It is time to teach the basic facts, the answer questions without any elaboration. These children are not sexually excited, only interested in a process that they do not understand and that seems a bit mysterious. They are satisfied with the bare statement of face. Sex education proceeds with the expanding interests of the children so that by adolescence they have a fairly complete knowledge of the facts and implications of sex. Now the games become dangerous because they approach closely to the function itself. Necking and petting can have serious results if the children have not been instructed to recognize them as sex stimulants, and to guard against them.