Doctors to inform parents of underage sex
Discussion
www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-13503136,00.html
Not sure where I stand on this one.
On the one hand, if the child is under 13 then it is VERY wrong, but if they are out of control enough that they are having sex, then the parents are unlikely to have much effect.
However, surely this is simply going to discourage girls from trying to get contraception? I very much doubt they will think "oh, I cant get on the pill, mybe I should cross my legs and wait" - they will think "oh well, stuff it, I'll take the chance"
Not sure where I stand on this one.
On the one hand, if the child is under 13 then it is VERY wrong, but if they are out of control enough that they are having sex, then the parents are unlikely to have much effect.
However, surely this is simply going to discourage girls from trying to get contraception? I very much doubt they will think "oh, I cant get on the pill, mybe I should cross my legs and wait" - they will think "oh well, stuff it, I'll take the chance"
Yugguy said:
I dunno. It should depend on the circumstances really, if it's two 15 year old's it's more acceptable than say a 30 year old bloke and a 15 year old girl.
What they are saying at the moment is that its for girls under 13. I barely knew what sex was at 13, never mind have any intentions of doing it!
They seem to be getting younger and younger - I remember when a pregnant 13/14/15-year-old was something of a shock, now it seems some families see it as normal, almost expected, even.
We need to stop being so blase about sex as a society. British attitudes towards sex don't seem to be very mature from any aspect - on one side, you have the old-fashioned no-sex-we're-British attitude where it's a totally taboo subject, which forces on developming kids a sense of overwhelming curiosity and as such is totally ineffective.
And on the other hand we have red-top tabloids stuck in Watney's Party Seven/Benny Hill-land, sex being used to sell absolutely every thing to everyone to a totally unnecessary degree, and magazines aimed at underage teenage girls full of sex advice, and to underage teenage boys full of commodifying, unemotional pictures of naked women (you telling me the likes of Nuts and Zoo are aimed at over-16s?). All this serves to create a great deal of unnecessary sexual frustration in younger teenagers - it's bad enough when your hormones are making you think about sex every three seconds, but when it seems to be everywhere and you're getting none of it then it creates rather unhealthy obssessions in kids to young to really deal with it. If it's presented as emotionless and carrying a price tag, I think that might even pose relationship problems for kids in later life.
I think it's time the adult world got a lot more responsible when it comes to sex and underage teenagers. Parents need to be more open and less hung-up about it (in fact, there's nothing more likely to put a young teen off the thought of sex than their mother talking freely about it), and the media needs to treat the teen market with a more sensetive and less exploitative attitude when it comes to how they deal with all these new feelings and urges.
As for doctors telling the parents - I think it's a good idea personally. Maybe it'll break the ice so far as teens talking about sex with their parents goes. It might go some way towards breaking the furtive obssessiveness and bringing sex into the realm of 'normality'. Of course, some parents might say 'you are banned from ever having sex again', but I severely doubt it.
We need to stop being so blase about sex as a society. British attitudes towards sex don't seem to be very mature from any aspect - on one side, you have the old-fashioned no-sex-we're-British attitude where it's a totally taboo subject, which forces on developming kids a sense of overwhelming curiosity and as such is totally ineffective.
And on the other hand we have red-top tabloids stuck in Watney's Party Seven/Benny Hill-land, sex being used to sell absolutely every thing to everyone to a totally unnecessary degree, and magazines aimed at underage teenage girls full of sex advice, and to underage teenage boys full of commodifying, unemotional pictures of naked women (you telling me the likes of Nuts and Zoo are aimed at over-16s?). All this serves to create a great deal of unnecessary sexual frustration in younger teenagers - it's bad enough when your hormones are making you think about sex every three seconds, but when it seems to be everywhere and you're getting none of it then it creates rather unhealthy obssessions in kids to young to really deal with it. If it's presented as emotionless and carrying a price tag, I think that might even pose relationship problems for kids in later life.
I think it's time the adult world got a lot more responsible when it comes to sex and underage teenagers. Parents need to be more open and less hung-up about it (in fact, there's nothing more likely to put a young teen off the thought of sex than their mother talking freely about it), and the media needs to treat the teen market with a more sensetive and less exploitative attitude when it comes to how they deal with all these new feelings and urges.
As for doctors telling the parents - I think it's a good idea personally. Maybe it'll break the ice so far as teens talking about sex with their parents goes. It might go some way towards breaking the furtive obssessiveness and bringing sex into the realm of 'normality'. Of course, some parents might say 'you are banned from ever having sex again', but I severely doubt it.
Under the Children Act, it is already a legal requirement to inform the Police of incidents of sex under the age of 13 - so no news really.
As for informing parents about under age sex, it would be a very quick way to destroy the shaky confidence teenagers have in medical services, and should nicely boost the teenage pregnancy rate. If the youngster doesn't tell the parents, why should I break medical confidentiality if a girl behaves sensibly, and comes to get contraception rather than casually get pregnant? The Gillick judgement is the sensible option. This is just another knee-jerk policy statement with little thought given to the consequences. Now THAT'S Blair's Britain for you!
As for informing parents about under age sex, it would be a very quick way to destroy the shaky confidence teenagers have in medical services, and should nicely boost the teenage pregnancy rate. If the youngster doesn't tell the parents, why should I break medical confidentiality if a girl behaves sensibly, and comes to get contraception rather than casually get pregnant? The Gillick judgement is the sensible option. This is just another knee-jerk policy statement with little thought given to the consequences. Now THAT'S Blair's Britain for you!
I think its all a bit pathetic really. I mean will the parents be informed if the child is just enquiring about the different types and not asking for it? You never know they may just be preparing for the future!
If a child acquires contraception it doesnt necessarily mean that they are having sex, it could mean that they may be considering it in the near future and just basically taking some precautions.
True that it would be a great concern to parents but if you think about it...would you rather that the child DIDNT go to the doctors and protect themselves and get pregnant and have a child (which is what has recently happenned to a 14/15 year old in my road) or for them to go to a back street abortion clinic and get butchered?
Its a pretty simple answer in my opinion...dont tell the parents...let the children have their freedom!
Kitty_Kat
x
If a child acquires contraception it doesnt necessarily mean that they are having sex, it could mean that they may be considering it in the near future and just basically taking some precautions.
True that it would be a great concern to parents but if you think about it...would you rather that the child DIDNT go to the doctors and protect themselves and get pregnant and have a child (which is what has recently happenned to a 14/15 year old in my road) or for them to go to a back street abortion clinic and get butchered?
Its a pretty simple answer in my opinion...dont tell the parents...let the children have their freedom!
Kitty_Kat
x
I don't think that the parents should be told - in the end if they trust the parents they will say something. If they don't - well there is probably a good reason.
In the end kids will do whatever they fancy.
I never told my mother (I was over 16 anyhooo) and we still don't discuss it.
In the end kids will do whatever they fancy.
I never told my mother (I was over 16 anyhooo) and we still don't discuss it.
littlegreenfairy said:
I don't think that the parents should be told - in the end if they trust the parents they will say something. If they don't - well there is probably a good reason.
In the end kids will do whatever they fancy.
I never told my mother (I was over 16 anyhooo) and we still don't discuss it.
Very well put!
if the children feel comfortable with their parents they will tell them.
My mum hasnt been told in such words but she basically guesses anyway!!
Kitty_Kat
Kitty_Kat said:
I don't think that the parents should be told - in the end if they trust the parents they will say something. If they don't - well there is probably a good reason.
In the end kids will do whatever they fancy.
I never told my mother (I was over 16 anyhooo) and we still don't discuss it.
Very well put!
if the children feel comfortable with their parents they will tell them.
My mum hasnt been told in such words but she basically guesses anyway!!
Kitty_Kat
I know my mother knows, she knows that I know she knows...she knows I'm not an idiot and hate kids anyhow so its all ok! nuff said
>> Edited by littlegreenfairy on Monday 6th February 14:11
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