'Interesting' article in the Guardian sex column

Well, it shouldn’t.

Especially when a child is 8.

You have a choice as parents to put your child’s welfare before your sexual desires. It’s a no brainier.

I'm going to buck the trend here. Plenty of parents go on holiday and share an hotel room with a child too youg to have a room of their own. So, sometimes, when a child is asleep, sex may happen.

Yes - there was an undertone of something I couldn't quite pinpoint but that's it.

What the fuck is that breastfeeding clip? Holy fucking shit Nonce rag indeed.

Stupidity tends not to be a defence that stands up in court. And trying to convince a judge that you believed this child slept like the dead every time you decided to fuck in their presence would be difficult, but the vibrator white noise comment indicates to me they know exactly what they are doing.

There are plenty of other places and times they could shag each others brains out that didn't involve having sex in the same room as their eight year old.

That whole column is gross. I think it's relevant that she's suffered abuse in the past because I think she's still being manipulated by him and not protecting her child in this situation.

Yuck. This happened to a friend of mine. She moved out at 16 and as an adult, she's very low contact with her parents. Unsurprisingly, the lack of appropriate parental boundaries showed up in other behaviours too.

I'm not sure if it's my age or just that I have got very cynical over the years , but I rarely read anything on the Guardian website now. This really is the pits. it's lazy parenting at it's worst;or is it abusive in that they enjoy the situation? Unless they have no other rooms , the child should surely have his own room and they should be having sex away from him. And the Guardian should have thought about what they are printing.
I want to tell the parents to be adults and the Guardian should think about the message they are sending out.

That's revolting. It reads as if they are getting off on informing everyone of this, and of course there are people who will get their kicks from reading it. Why has this been published?

An eight year old is not a baby. They are perfectly able to pretend to be asleep while daddy is going down on mummy.

They can have sex somewhere else. Having sex in a room with a child is abusive, whether or not it's illegal.

And his 'joke' about the vibrator acting as white noise makes me think he gets off on the thrill of the child potentially waking up. Like a danger wank.

What the article describes is not a crime.

Sexual Offences Act 2003 (England and Wales):

11. Engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child

(1)A person aged 18 or over (A) commits an offence if—

(a)he intentionally engages in an activity,

(b)the activity is sexual,

(c)for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, he engages in it—

(i)when another person (B) is present or is in a place from which A can be observed, and

(ii)knowing or believing that B is aware, or intending that B should be aware, that he is engaging in it, and

(d)either—

(i)B is under 16 and A does not reasonably believe that B is 16 or over, or

(ii)B is under 13.

(2)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

Adults are guilty of an offence only if they believe the child is “aware” and if the sex is had in the presence of the child (rather than without the child present) for sexual gratification. Adults arguing they believed the child was not aware do not need to show their belief was reasonable, only that it was their belief.

The article suggests that the parents believe their child sleeps through when they have sex, and also that the presence of the child is because he is in the room permanently for co-sleeping.

Co-sleeping parents who have sex are not generally breaking the law.

Staying blue.

That makes for really disturbing reading.

Child sexual abuse

A child is defined as any person under the age of 18. Child sexual abuse involves forcing or inciting a child to take part in sexual activity, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening and not necessarily involving a high level of violence.
This may involve physical contact including rape or oral sex, or non-penetrative acts such as masturbation, kissing, rubbing and touching outside of clothing. They may also include non-contact activities, such as involving children in looking at, or in the production of, sexual images, watching sexual activities, encouraging children to behave in sexually inappropriate ways, or exploiting or grooming a child in preparation for abuse (including via the internet) or prostitution. Child sexual abuse can be committed by both men and women, or other children.Normal

They are very naive to assume the eight year olds sleeps through the sex. If the child wakes up and witnesses it they are then committing a crime.

Ack!
It's a fucking awful rag that gets more ridiculously degenerate as time goes on. Absolutely rank. I think they now aim to shock. It used to be a great publication, but that was a long time ago.

I’ve written to the Guardian to complain.

This article is shocking.

About 6 weeks ago I cancelled my subscription and member services to the Guardian.

It was very cathartic telling them that no, it wasn’t the cost of living, but yes, it was 100% down to their editorial line.

The guy on the call said they’d been receiving a few cancellations from women on the grounds of the paper’s stance on women’s rights.

Hahaha! Yes I noticed that after posting. I blame Spotify for loudly announcing every few minutes that I might want to join the MET. The algorithm has decided this is my calling.

The Guardian is a nonce rag.

@Beenhereforever1978 interesting adverts generated by that article.

Yeah they've got form for this.

'Interrupted by a delivery man whilst trying to find a vibrator to use during breastfeeding because it made you horny'

That would be sexual abuse then. Or in the case of the Graun....a top tip!

GuardIan are terrific perv-pushers sometimes. Wouldn’t date whoever commissions all the yikes pieces.

OMG that's really disturbing. The vibrator as white noise - especially for a child who is EIGHT - is grim.

I'm not a parent but is it commonplace to have sex with an 8 year is sleeping in the same room as you?

Not unheard of in developing countries where there is a lack of privacy and space and a matter of necessity.

But here, in the UK, in this day and age, with multiple rooms in the house? No. Absolutely not. Very uncomfortable reading about it to be honest. The whole thing is grim.