Ed Balls is instigating a huge shake up of how our children will be taught about sex and relationships. The new initiative will mean children as young as five will be taught about sexual relationships, and it will also result in parents being fined if they choose to remove their 15 year old from sex education classes. Presently parents can withdraw children from these often overly explicit classes on moral and religious grounds, which currently extends to students under the age of 19, however, this right will be lost once the child reaches the age of 15.
If the parent does remove their child from these classes then they could be prosecuted under anti-truancy laws- which are a complete farce in themselves.
Currently secondary schools have no choice but to offer sex education but they do have a little control over the content, however, this will be lost once this new initiative comes into play. Primary schools are not obliged to offer any kind of sex education, which again, this right for the school to choose what is right for the pupils will be lost.
I personally find it rather disturbing that every single pupil in their last year of school will literally be forced to take part in classes which will be speaking of the “positives” of abortion. And also about the use of condoms and contraceptives.
Ed Balls said that this would help tackle teenage pregnancy, but come on, their current programs of handing out contraceptives to any one over the age of 13 and spreading sex education to any teenager that will listen has had an adverse effect and could be argued to be the reason behind the dramatic rise in teenage pregnancies, so how would this half baked scheme make the slightest bit of difference apart from making the current situation worse?
Now, please don’t mistake what I am trying to put across here. I am not some prude who believes that children should be wrapped up in bubble wrap and never told the realities of life until they are in their thirties, but we have to be responsible about it.
The first thing I believe should happen is that we should rise the age of consent to 19, and this should be policed and enforced, unlike today where the age of consent is completely ignored by local authorities.
Secondly, sex education should be available to all teenagers, from secondary school onwards, however, this should be at the parents discretion- and we should not teach lies about the “positives” of abortion and lies about homosexuality and lesbianism being normal and natural life style choices.
All in all, we must teach our children to be responsible by instilling in them morals and values.
