Children 'need sex education from age of 10'

All primary school children should be taught about contraception, according to a report out today.

The Institute of Public Policy Research made the recommendation because British teenagers are the most sexually active in Europe and have the highest teenage pregnancy rate.

Its report said that children should learn about contraception in their final year of primary school, at the age of 10 or 11, and that condoms should be free or sold cheaply to teenagers in schools and colleges.

Schools currently teach sex education between the ages of 11 and 14. However, 38 per cent of British 15-year-olds claim to be sexually active and almost one in three of those did not use a condom last time they had sex.

Julia Margo, of IPPR, said: "Our education system must start teaching children about the risks involved in sex before they even consider taking those risks."



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/10/23/nsex23.xml

that 10 years old is too young to be taught about contraceptions for about a hundred good reasons

Before you all flame me, I didn't say children should not be taught, just 10 is too young

It's sad, what I can remember...

The "pretend an egg is a child and take care of it" nonsense.

The token body part coverage.

The 2 minutes devoted to homosexuality (that's where it's only about 2 men, where one inserts his hoo-hah into the other's exit-ramp... gee, no 2 women? No other concepts regarding homosexuality? Not even a syllable as to how sexual attraction is defined? When I saw Crocodile Dundee 2, I had feeling and still didn't know what the hell the feelings were FOR! I just didn't want them, as I recall... (by age 21 things finally changed a bit...)

Not much on STDs. Though that seems to be more important than the rest of it if you ask me. When you come across a person you really want to spend real quality time with, an STD is the equivalent of a 'blue light special gone bust'. (again, single people can do what they want, but consideration for one's partner should never be ignored...)

We would all be better off knowing at least something from a very early age: No cutesy lying about storks or any of that.

And which clone he can get for doing his chores. I think if I started talking to him about contraception it would go completely over his head. However, I have an 8 year old daughter who will probably be ready for a talk by the time she's 9. I think children progress at different ages and before 12 it should be left up to the parent.

They saw how my husband and I treat each other and how we respected them and their privacy. Anyone who thinks sex education consists of a discussion of genitals, STDs and birth control is missing the boat, IMO.

extension of our daily lives. There isn't anything we haven't talked about since they were babes in the car seat going to pick up the cooler of semen at the airport....

If you make sex into the "big" talk that only happens once, then it is so distorted. If sex, contraception, STDs, love, passion, intimacy, consequences and all the rest are just incorporated into conversation then the topic isn't fraught with drama and can be talked about within the family, easily.

I'm so glad my kids (college junior on down to a 10 year old) aren't freaked out about sex. at. all.

Those roosters and chickens leave little to the imagination. Then there was the year we accidentally ended up with 10 young roosters after accepting the chicks retiring from their roles in the junior high production of Wizard of OZ...That was an education,as was having two male dogs (even though they were neutered)

I'm glad. The program was wonderful.