This study addresses the urgent need for sex education for children in China, particularly given the frequent occurrence of child sexual abuse cases and the significant shortcomings of traditional teaching methods. It explores interactive animation as an innovative medium for sex education for digital native children aged 6–8, aiming to enhance their sexual safety awareness and self-protection capabilities. The study employed a mixed-method design. First, the Delphi method was used to solicit opinions from 10 experts to evaluate appropriate teaching methods. Then, interactive animations were developed based on constructivist learning theory and the ARCS motivation model. A randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the learning outcomes of the interactive animation group (n=30) with those of the traditional animation control group (n=30). Finally, pre- and post-tests were conducted on 120 children, and the Children's Behavior Scale (CBCL) was used to determine the children's views on the sex education interactive animations. The results showed that experts highly recognized the feasibility of interactive animation. Furthermore, the experimental group scored significantly higher than the control group in all knowledge dimensions in the post-test (p < 0.01). McNemar's test further indicated that children showed significant improvements in gender role cognition, sexual physiology knowledge, and emotional understanding (p < 0.001). This study found that interactive animation not only effectively improves children's sex education knowledge but is also very popular with children. Therefore, incorporating interactive animation into sex education courses is an effective approach that aligns with children's cognitive development characteristics and combines fun with education, offering important reference value for sex education practice and policy formulation in China.
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