Sex-book man’s financial plunge

Press, 15 July 1980, Page 6

Sex-book man’s financial plunge

A 'Woolston, man has mortgaged his house to pay for the printing of a sex education book he has just written.

Mr M. R. Buchanan, a carpet salesman who described himself last evening as a “responsible parent,” said that the book, “Teach Your Child About Sex,” contained photographs and diagrams “with very little medical terminology for easier reading and understanding.” Most sex-education books were aimed at the younger child, he said. The 40-page book, which took more than a year to research and write, was for parents whose children were aged from nine to 14. The book could be easily read by a child. Mr Buchanan mortgaged

his house to raise the $15,000 for the printing of 20,000 copies, which he will sell by mail for $3. He said that he was "taking a gamble,” but believed it would pay off. Sex education should be taught by parents, rather than at school, because the parent was much closer to the child, he said. Children had to be taught the correct words and terms, otherwise they would soon know only the slang terms. Mr Buchanan said he decided to write the book after facing the problem of teaching his own children about sex. He decided that if there were gaps in his own knowlege, other parents would also have similar problems.