Parents and teachers alike admit they have felt unprepared and ill-equipped to educate and support youngsters – when it comes to the topics of puberty and periods, research has found.
Nearly half of parents claim they don't feel comfortable discussing periods with their own children – as 34% have been faced with a situation where they have not known how to answer a question their kids asked them about puberty.
And even in schools, a whopping 84% of teachers say they find it challenging to educate their students about puberty – with one in four not feeling equipped to do so.
One of the biggest concerns about having these conversations with a young person is saying the wrong thing and appearing insensitive – with 26% of parents, and 68% of teachers, worrying about this.
But less than half of teachers (46%) feel the current school curriculum around puberty education is sufficient – with 83% saying they would welcome better training to help them address such topics with their pupils.
The research was commissioned by Always, and polled 1,000 parents of 8-16-year-olds, as well as 500 teachers who teach students aged eight to 14.
