to be a bit surprised that 11 year olds had school lesson involving putting a condom on a banana?

[Mintyy]

So this is a Year 7 class in a local academy.

Aibu to think that they are still a wee bit too young for this?

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

Oh marriedinwhite, I am smiling at the thought of the a few who'd believe in the protective powers of a be-durexed banana

[Startail]

Given the dissappearence of on girl at the end of Y9 to have a baby. DDs class should have had that lesson.

[Startail]

I must fix my spell checker

[Mintyy]

Seems iabu then.

[FeckOffWithYourXmasBollocks]

I think you're Incredibly naive if you think that 11 is too young to be thinking about sex! Better to have the info and not use it, than know nothing and end up in trouble! Prevention being better than cure and all that!

[EuroShagmore]

We had this class age 12 when I was at school 25 years ago, so no, it's definitely not too early!

[Mintyy]

Feck off with telling me I am incredibly naive! Ffs.

[Wallison]

I suppose the thing is that they need to be talking about and aware of this stuff for some time before they become sexually active. Given what was going on at my school almost 30 years ago by the time we were all in what is now year 8, I would say that year 7 is definitely the time to start proper frank discussion and education on the subject.

[Felicitywascold]

What statistics are those Felicity?

There have been many studies, most available with a quick google.

I was thinking specifically of the NHS figure that 25% of teens will have sex before the age of consent.

Don't get me wrong minty I wish you were right. With all my heart. But the sad truth is you aren't right.

Marriedinwhite- the school don't consult you on the rest of the curriculum this is no different.

[TwinkleReturns]

Im 22 and however many years ago I was in year 6 we did this ... although I seem to remember a selection of vegetables and the hysteria about who got the cucumber

Of course its sensible. I would hope we are a far cry from the days of "dont talk about it and they wont do it" which results in far more STIs and underage pgcies than DC who have been taught about protection early on. Its not as though the teacher stands there giving out tips on oral and how to achieve mutual climax! As I remember it we had a general biology bit about what a penis and vagina look like, how they work incl an explanation of the menstrual cycle. Then we moved onto talking about what contraception was; how it prevents the sperm from reaching the egg thereby stopping fertilisation. Then we all got to look at diff contraceptives and practice putting condoms on carrots!

Each year we did a recap and the information gradually became more detailed in that it stopped being so factual and we were introduced to the idea that sex was something people did for pleasure and not just to create a baby. In year 9 we discussed anal, rape, domestic violence(specifically sexual abuse), peer pressure, STIs, oral, group sex, homosexuality etc in the context of the media and society as a whole as well as personally.

I think its actually very important that we open the topic right up at a young age.

[whathasthecatdonenow]

You should receive a letter with the option to remove your child from the lesson. We send them home with the pupils and a nil reply means your child does the lesson. We assume that some letters don't get home, but generally those are the children who want to be informed but know that their parents would rather they were kept 'innocent' (ignorant). The letter is posted on the VLE as well.

[squeakytoy]

I knew of quite a few in my year at that age who were experimenting with sex, and one of my classmates had a baby by her 13th birthday too.

That was 30 years ago.

[aufaniae]

There was a girl in my class at school who got pregnant at 13. It was her excuse for not doing PE. "I can't, I'm pregnant miss!".

No one believed her. Turned out she was telling the truth: she had 2 DCs by the time she was 16.

Goodness, she must be 37 with a 24yo and a 21yo now. Wow! We've had such different lives. (My DS is nearly 4). I hope things improved for her.

[squeakytoy]

My schoolmate was a gran before she was 30.. and her own mum was a great grandma at 46... clearly it was a family tradition

[BooyhooRemembering]

better to have it (the knowledge of how to) and not need it than need it and not have it IMO

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

Twinkle

And we had an animated "egg and sperm" cartoon and a handout of sanitary towels.

Can't help feeling I've missed out somehow.

[TwinkleReturns]

I actually remember masturbation being discussed after one of the boys had thought there was something wrong with him when he'd had a wet dream. So from that angle aswell there needs to be a discussion about sex in the same way that menstruation needs to be explained to girls before they start periods and panic that they are seriously ill because they dont understand what is happening to them. IMO you cant discuss masturbation and not safe sex because one inevitably leads to the other.

[Mintyy]

I am not saying there shouldn't be any sex education, dear me! Its just the instructions on condom usage that slightly made me go .

[ninah]

yup, most underage pregancies are down to the banana
they don't call it fruity for nuttin

[stinkinseamonkey]

no not too young, this is the kind of thing they need to learn BEFORE they start having sex, and even back in "my day" some started at 13ish. 11 sounds about right to me, although I wonder if they start even younger now than they did when I was a kid??

[MaryZezItsOnlyJustNovember]

Sorry Mintyy.

They need to be shown while they are still young enough to actually listen.

By the time they get to 13/14, they know everything. So won't listen to anyone about anything.

A girl in my local hospital had a baby a couple of months ago. She was 13. So was the b/f. Both were 12 when she got pregnant.

[FeckOffWithYourXmasBollocks]

Sorry. You aren't naive at all. You are obviously right, and the teenage pregnancy statistics in the uk are incorrect!

[TwinkleReturns]

Jamie

We also had to watch a rather horrific video of childbirth where I humiliated myself by fainting You weren't missing out there!!

[JamieandtheMagicTorch]

good point Mary. Had not thought of that

[BooyhooRemembering]

so minty you think they should have sex education but not be taught about safe sex?