Give School Children Condoms and Teach Them Underage Sex Is A+ Ok!
Posted: Tuesday, July 22, 2008
by LeahG Artist
Cartoon & Illustration Services
When considering whether we should stem the rate of teenage pregnancy by issuing birth control or contraceptives in high school I look back to my childhood and how things were 'controlled' then.
I never received sex education from my parents though I do recall some sort of talk sat on the rug in front of the gas fire when I was around 15yrs old. I thought it amusing given that sex really wasn't something I thought about. I had yet to have my first kiss, crossing that 'border' was stressful enough.
There is a lot of pressure on children to grow up, and there are a few symbols that for children represent adulthood. Those symbols are generally things they are not permitted to do as children. These are:
Drinking alcohol
Smoking
Driving cars
Working
Sex
Thus it is a challenge and a feat to achieve any of things in adolescence as it gets them that little bit closer to being an adult. So they think. The real responsibilities and challenges elude them.
Who is to blame for this desperation to grow up? We are. We bombard children with images of young popstars, sexualised and scantily clad, singing provocative songs and dancing like strippers. Actors in soaps have boyfriends and girlfriends from very young ages and are constantly engaged in some love triangle.
This may be how it is now but this is not how it was when I was at school. Girls did have boyfriends but those who were sexually active kept it very quiet, as they would get a bad name. So it was not something to brag or boast about as it is now. Underage sex (15yrs and under in the UK) was still very taboo and frowned upon. Now it seems less so and that is the problem.
Providing for the minority who were sexually active by giving sex talks in school has actually increased the acceptability of underage sex and with it the numbers of children engaging in underage sex. Thus providing contraception such as condoms and the pill in high schools will increase the problem yet more.
If you are a child not having sex, you may be deemed 'abnormal' by your peers and they'd be right given how normal is defined...ie. by what the majority are doing. Is your child strong enough to accept being 'abnormal' by saying 'no' to underage sex?
As parents we need to make a stand and realise that we have gone a tad too far the other way when it comes to preventing this problem and have instead increased it. I am not anti sex education, nor I am anti contraception for those that need it, but I am anti the parents being kept out of the loop as at the end of the day, the child still lives in the family home and the parent remains responsible for their wellbeing and their actions.
The pill has many health implications and parents should know if their child is taking them in order to provide the appropriate support and advice. Will there be Doctors on hand at every school to give this advice? I doubt it. If children want to have underage sex and you think that education is not going to prevent it, then the best alternative is a sexual health clinic or the Doctor as they are trained to deal with this issue, teachers and school nurses are not!
Giving children contraception at school is a bad idea for so many reasons not least the ones stated above.
Consider the effects of the pill on women. It can interfere with menstruation, result in acne, headaches, blood clots, and mood swings etc. If the parent is oblivious to their child's 'drug' taking how are they to identify the problem and help them?
Let us not pretend the school nurse will take care of this on our behalf. To date no Doctor has ever properly diagnosed my pill related symptoms or addressed them. I have had to figure it out and resolve it on my own. One form of contraception made me feel suicidal as it disagreed with me so much. Imagine this affect on your child? Your child would not know why they felt that way and how could they ask you for help, given you didn't know they were sexually active or on the pill?
It is a mistake to take away the power parents have to protect their own children and proving children pills and condoms at school is an obscene idea. What next Viagra?
LeahG Artist and Designer
Leah left the retail and health management world a few years ago to become a freelance writer and artist. She now enjoys creating funky vibrant cartoons and illsutrations for websites, promotional materials and as gifts. Leah would love to illustrate her own children's books in the future. Presently she is creating cartoon and cartoon mascots for business clients.
Visit LeahG's Cartoon and Illustration Services website here for updates and latest art work.
Leah left the retail and health management world a few years ago to become a freelance writer and artist. She now enjoys creating funky vibrant cartoons and illsutrations for websites, promotional materials and as gifts. Leah would love to illustrate her own children's books in the future. Presently she is creating cartoon and cartoon mascots for business clients.
Visit LeahG's Cartoon and Illustration Services website here for updates and latest art work.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)Excellent article! I remember the same as when you were in school. Being sexual was very hush hush and tabu for being a slut. I was an adult before I even thought of going there.The schools should be responsible for education and not providing birth control. This is a completely different system nowdays. What is that saying about following the law, where sex and underaged children is supposed to be illegal? Gee, why don't they add antibuse also, so they don't experiment with alcohol? What a crock this all is. Our schools have hit an all time low one more time.Speaking of side effects and misdiagnosing, you should read Life with diabetes...my personal experience. I usually decline half or more of the garbage and medications the doctors try to give me. I have literally gotten ill from some of them.Well said Michelle, I used to work int he NHS too, so I have a little insight about where the priorities lie. There was a lot of discussion ages ago about trying to force GP's to perform abortions at medical practices. Most GP's were against it as that is NOT what they signed up for! Not sure where this matter lies now but the fact is the government are desperate to reduce the birth rate.
Some statistics allege teen pregnancy is on the decrease, if this is true it is true because abortion and the after pill are on the increase. I don't believe for one second underage sex is on the decrease, further more there is no way of proving this is the case. Would you admit to it if you were 13yrs old? I think not. Statistics have never been reliable.
The government is panicking as this problem is on the rise and we need to go 'back to what worked in the past' not forward with these measures that clearly do not work. They may work in other countries but they do not work here! Those children are raised from the start entirely differently, so handing out a few condoms is not the method that works it is the entire life style.
Teaching children from age 5 upwards to respect themselves, relationships and that being a child is a wonderful thing might be a good place to start.
I never say to my children when they refuse to do something 'your friends are doing it, so why don't you?' as this sets them up for following their peers. I avoid all those phrases that program them to be influenced by peers rather than their own good sense or my guidance.
I also avoid letting my children see sexual images on TV, which is hard these days as they are everywhere including in adverts!
hi cre,great article. i think sex ed should be taught in school, especially for those whose parents' don't know how to approach the subject, therefore, they would not otherwise learn the facts, but birth control can be bought in stores, and maybe, if one's parent feels the need, they can purchase these items for their children, not in an attempt to condone young sex, but to give them protection if they are going to do it behind our backs anyway. better protection than a sexually active disease, pregnancy, or aids. i went to planned parenthood when i was 17, and got on the pill. my mother didn't want me having sex yet, but i had just started, but at least i didn't get pregnant.thanks for a great read,my best regards,sueHi Sue, in the Uk it is perfectly legal to have sex at age 16, so 17 to me is not anywhere close to underage sex. My own mum was married at age 16, me and my bro were both here by age 18! For me underage sex is anything up to age 15.
I am pro sex education and pro contraception for those that need it, I just am anti handing them out at school removing parents from the equation as if we have no responsibility for our own children. We are legally responsible for them in the UK till age 18, so to remove our right to monitor their health, is to me an abomination.
Here girls can request abortions without their parents knowing (under age 15) and given the after effects of abortion which can include health risks as well as mental health difficulties, is again obscene. The back up just isn't there from the health profession however much they report that it is.
There are parents who can be unreasonable but there are a lot more who are not, and these ones should know what is going on with their children especially when it concerns their health.
I have NEVER had proper contraception advice from a nurse or Doctor despite requesting it. I have had to do my own homework. I would not want a child going through this alone.
Anonymous above is me by the way! Forgot to log in :)
So glad to see your article. Well done. I hope you will write more about parenting in the personal view style you are using. Whatever they can now control or whatever help they need due to emotional gone-out-of-control choices, teens need adults that stand on principles and refuse to give in on the most important things.Thanks Jane, there are some things I won't bend on :) I have taught my children young as they are that being a parent is a job. I tell them when they complain that my job is three fold, 1.To keep them alive (healthy), 2.to keep them safe 3.To keep them happy.
I inform them that this list is in order of priority and if keeping them healthy and safe compromises their happiness so be it as no.1 and 2 are my first priority. Fortunately they have plenty of opportunities to be happy.
I think that giving children under the age of 16 condoms should be against the law as the law was decided that the age consent for having sexual intercourse was 16 years and over i think taht giving children under 16 years is just encouraging teenage pregnancies as a condom is not always reliable as they tend to tear and children this age would probarly tear them when trying to open them i dont think taht children under the age of 16 are even ready to have sexual intercourse as their bodies are not even fully developed at this stage and i dont even think they would be able to deal with this emotionally ialso think that being 13 years of age and being handed a condom would make you feel cool and to flaunt it about but i dont think they would actually do it. I also think that putting a 13 year old xhild on the pill is wrong because im am 18 years old and i am on the pill and it effects me emotionally so i dont know how a young child would be able to deal with this im sorry but this is just my veiw to me this is encouraging under agers to have sex do you not think its a bit pathetic how there giving 13 year olds and under the sex talk but they have put adult drinking up to 21 to me thats stupidity.I agree with everything you said 100% and it is refreshing to see an 18yr old with this view in this day and age. Thank you.
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