who should teach sex education????

[scottishmumto1]

on the news today is an article about the 3 teenage sisters that have all got young children. their mother is blaming the schools for not giving them proper sex education.
but should it be the parents that teach sex education as well as the school
i will be teaching my kids sex education when the time comes
my parents didnt teach me much so i had to learn through magazines and friends
also the sex education they teach in school nowadys is far more explicit than i ever imagined. sometimes i think they may be learning far too much too young, but its a very fine line as when is too young
what are your views about teaching sex education

[bibiboo]

Parents! It should never fall to a teacher to provide adequate sex education to a whole class of very different children/young adults.

[bibiboo]

I do believe it should be covered in school, of course, but I believe the RESPONSIBILITY for it lies with the parents.

[sweetmonkey]

i think it is a mixture of both but the fact that this woman has blamed the schools is ridiculous.
Ok if one of yr children got pregnant maybe you could say that but the fact that all 3 have and that one has had two miscariages and an abortion.
i find it disgusting, especially as we are paying to keep them with a roof over their heads.

[Lucycat]

Parents! when my dd was nearly 3 and I was just about to have dd2, she was asking then 'How does the baby get in / out of your tummy mummy?' so for a 12 year old not to know ( or care more to the point!) is rather scandalous. IMHO of course

[scottishmumto1]

yeah i dont think in this day and age that a 12 year old doesnt know enough about sex education, that they get pregnant with out knowing what they are doing.
my 13 year old neighbour (girl), shocks me by what she knows.

[sweetmonkey]

maybe these girls just didnt bother going to school in the first place. would explain alot!!

[Lucycat]

My dd2 (just 2) always wants to copy her big sister (age just 5) do you think this is the same? OH I WANT ONE TOOOOO'

[scottishmumto1]

i dont know anything about the girls mother, but if she has been on benefits her girls may see how easy it is to get money out of the state.

i feel some get pregnant just so they can get money handed to them from the government.

the benefits system is there for the genuine ones that need it, not for the ones that are mocking it

[NomDePlume]

TBH, I think it should be a combination of parents & school.

[Nemo1977]

parents firstly and school should back it up. I think parents have responsibility to make kids aware of sex etc at a young age not only to prevent that type of thing but also to give them the knowledge about their bodies so no one else can violate them.

[Lucycat]

When I was a teacher (currently escaped!) I would find that we had very few 'schoolgirl' pregnancies as the school was really good at teaching the 'facts of life'. They would leave school, go out to work and then a couple of years down the line, would think 'sod this working lark' and decide to have a baby instead. At least that's what some of them told me, when they brought their babies in to show off in school!! Peer pressure is a very powerful thing as well.

[Auntfanny]

I strongly beieve that sex ed should be covered by the parents and school as to cover it from all directions to drum in to the kids the importance of keeping safe when it comes to sex, not only is there a risk of becoming pg but also std's and sti's are on the rise. I think sex has lost alot of value these days i have always thought of it as something done between a lovng couple but now days i know alot of people who have sex with people they just meet at clubs ect for the hell of it, i think this is publicised to kids so as they are growing up they get the wrong idea about sex, i know in alot of school kids have had competitions on who looses the virginity first and are often pressured into because kids beilive its cool or the done thing to do, parents and tachers need to cover all aspects of sex to protect the kids the most

[ruthiemum]

TBH our sex education lessons at school weren't much cop, just basically told wear protection and you won't catch anything. It was the dissaprovement of my mum that made me stop and think about what I was doing. I do think the onus is firstly on the parents and then the school to back it up.

[horseshoe]

Schools are OK for giving the facts but I think the morality of it should def fall with the parents.

I cant help thinking that when you read these stories, the mother (not this one in particular) is quoted to of having various men home. How are children supposed to learn the sacredness of sex?

It amazes me how the blame culture is to then blame someone else.

I think the mothers would get more symphathy if they held their hands up and said "look I could of done more but their my kids, I love them and I'll try and support them through it all" Instead you get....."not my fault, need bigger house, need more money".

[bee3]

I certainly think that sex education is really important in schools, from the first proper ones in Y6 (10/11 years) onwards into secondary. Children need clear, honest and detailed information.
BUT parents have the ultimate responsibility, and it makes me seeth when schools take the blame for teenage pregnancies, and parents cop out saying it's the school's job. Schools can't regulate how children live their lives out of school, how much independence they have, the company they keep or the messages they receive about underage sex from their peers ands family. Only parents can do this,it's called parenting!

I can't imagine how hard it must be having teenagers in this day and age, and I don't for a minute think that it's straightforward, but blaming schools is so unhelpful IMO

[Spacecadet]

its up to the parents.

[Enid]

Parents. But my dd1 already listens more to Mrs X her teacher than to me, so schools should definitely back it up, with good, early information.

[elsmommy]

Parents and schools should teach sex ed.
But its up to the parents to make sure their child understands everything.

[motherinferior]

Both.

Am clearly missing something, though, I've never had sacred sex.

[motherinferior]

Schools can do a hell of a lot, I reckon - parents can v easily get very embarrassed about it all. And schools can provide, in a dispassionate forum, a lot of links and support for gay/bi kids in particular.

[tamula]

I believe that parents should begin and schools should follow-on whilst offering access to information and services, of which children may not want to ask their parents for or not know how to go about getting.

[tamula]

I also believe it should begin early and not the year before they've all made up their mind to start experimenting or already are!

[ninah]

who should ... parents and schools.
Who does ... magazines like Sugar, weird rumours from peers, 'celebs'
My recollection of what I was taught at school was that it was really mechanical and I'd be much more inclined to remember the tantalising snippets gleaned from less suitable sources

[joash]

The majority of so-called 'sex education' focuses on informing the youngsters that if they are going to do it or when they do it - do it safely. Surely, what we should be teaching these children is more about self-defined sexuality, the right to say no, relationships and not being pressured into doing what they think everyone else is doing anyway.

[suedonim]

Parents, then it can be reinforced by school. Having said which, I'm trying to tell my 9yo the 'facts of life' (as it was called in my youth!) but she shows no interest whatsoever.