<![CDATA[Early childhood sex education is often approached as the provision of age-appropriate knowledge about sexuality, while the role of family culture in shaping children’s understanding of the body, privacy, boundaries, and protection remains less explored. This study examines how Sasak ethno-parenting values are enacted in everyday family practices and interpreted in relation to early childhood sex education. A qualitative phenomenological approach was employed involving parents, extended family members, and traditional and community leaders in Lombok, Indonesia. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, observations, and documentation and analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. The findings indicate that Sasak ethno-parenting is expressed through four interconnected dimensions: modesty as foundations of body awareness; privacy as an everyday experience of personal boundaries; parental modelling and habituation as mechanisms of value enactment; and family responsibility as a protective social environment. These practices provide children with everyday experiences related to appropriate bodily conduct, private spaces, interactional boundaries, communication of discomfort, and seeking help. The study theoretically extends the concept of ethno-parenting from cultural value transmission toward a cultural mediation mechanism that connects local values with children’s learning experiences related to body safety and protection. It also conceptualizes early childhood sex education as a culturally mediated process rather than solely formal knowledge transmission. The findings suggest the need for culturally responsive parenting and early childhood education that integrates local values with child protection principles.]]>
