Parent education can open the door for other types of interventions. Parents and other adult family members who participate in education programs are often more willing to favor other efforts, such as in-school sex education. They do so because they understand what will be taught or that they are ill-equipped to educate their children about sexuality and reproductive health. In Egypt, the New Horizons program built support for sexuality and reproductive health education for young adolescent girls in conservative rural areas by educating parents about how their daughters' possession of accurate information can result in concrete benefits to the family, such as healthier babies and reduced risk of disease. Informational materials for the girls were developed and field tested with parents, resulting in a built-in sensitivity to prevailing community attitudes and beliefs as well as broad support among adults for the program.
Gender norms affect adolescents.
2 Blum, R. and P. Rinehart. 3 World Health Organization. 1993. A Challenge and a Promise . 4 Alter, J.S. et al. 1984. Teaching Parents to be the Primary Sexuality Educators of their Children .