Suggesting that just because a child has read or been told about sex, they will instantly go out and do it does a massive disservice to them. If a child were to do that it would be more of a reflection of their upbringing than of what they have been taught in school.
All of the evidence points towards early education reducing teen pregnancy rates. As an example, the Netherlands has one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the world. This is a description of their sex ed policy:
Subsidized by the Dutch government, the ?Lang leve de liefde? (?Long Live Love?) package, developed in the late 1980s, aims to give teenagers the skills to make their own decisions regarding health and sexuality. Nearly all secondary schools provide sex education as part of biology classes and over half of primary schools discuss sexuality and contraception. The curriculum focuses on biological aspects of reproduction as well as on values, attitudes, communication and negotiation skills. The media has encouraged open dialogue and the health-care system guarantees confidentiality and a non-judgmental approach. The Netherlands has one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates in the world, and the Dutch approach is often seen as a model for other countries.
I've highlighted what I think the key elements to that are.
Oh for a media that encouraged open dialogue rather than our repressed Daily Mail style outrage at the thought that our children should be told about sex before they actually start getting curious and doing it.
ZhenXiang But that is your choice vigglewiggle, what about all the other parents who would not choose that for their child, who were not even given the choice? What about children whose parents do not talk to them about it, so they have no one to discuss the questions that reading material like this will raise?
Then they are not doing their job as parents and it is right that the school should step in where they are failing.
In my experience, the girls who I know who either got pregnant when they were teenagers or took risks were the ones with parents who never talked to them about sex and were particularly repressed about it.
My mom and dad were not easy to talk to about it but ensured that I had access to reading material from about the age of nine along with a healthy dose of fear about what the consequences would be if I came home pregnant. Their view, which they made very clear, was that I had been given the information, I knew the biology and I knew how to access contraception if I wanted to have sex. If I was stupid enough to disrespect both myself and them, then I would be in serious trouble.
I was horrified when I found out that my two best friends, whose parents were of the "never talk about it" variety were taking stupid risks because "You couldn't get pregnant the first time" or "You couldn't get pregnant while on your period". I nagged one of them into getting the pill myself. Her mother went ballistic when she found out she was on the pill even though she knew she was sleeping with her (long-term) boyfriend. God knows what she would have done if she had come back pregnant.