My daughter at 15 talked to me, her single-parent father, about going on the pill. I expressed my surprise and even appreciation that she could come to me about this, but realised that my feelings were immaterial and kept the remainder from her, advising that that while I thought it was illegal to have sex before the age of consent, she should consult her GP, and if that did not work, to get a second opinion. She did.

Even by that time, we had issues. These issues got bigger before they would subside. Parenthood can be as tough as childhood. Looking back, I think neither of us can be sure that optimum choices were always made along the way. We both hope to improve in future. That’s life, I guess.

Have our two lives been enhanced by state intervention? I doubt it very much.

But I hear others have benefited so that’s enough for me. Kevin may have been plotted to the right of Genghis Khan on a political scale, but I think he means well. He has an eye on things and shares those visions with working families. That’s good enough for me. I’m just so glad I’m no longer responsible for anyone. I’m hoping Kevin is.

Seeker> "He has an eye on things and shares those visions with working families. That’s good enough for me. I’m just so glad I’m no longer responsible for anyone. I’m hoping Kevin is."

I wonder how far this mentality extends amongst these "Working Families".

Seeker>"I’m just so glad I’m no longer responsible for anyone."

Very interesting. The public want the government to babysit it because parents can't handle the pressure and simply want to forsake any of their responsibility. This sentiment is intriguing.

Jolanda:"Children do not need to be involved in sex at 14 or even 15 or 16 for that matter. "

At what age do they "need to be involved in sex" then?
Given that you believe your children are "gifted", at what age do you think "ordinary" children "need" to have sex? What do you think your kids think about the subject, or do you believe they don't "need" to discuss the subject?
Take this as you will, but your posts are giving me the impression of a domineering mother, determined to "give her kids the best" as she sees it, regardless of their own desires. You gave birth to them, but you don't own them.

Banjo, what on earth does FGM have to do with the topic you raised? Are you suggesting that schools are encouraging this nasty practise? Surely it's normally arranged by parents who are trying to maintain their own cultural mores in the face of a society that condemns them? You seem to have no problem with the state usurping their role, yet you would have those same parents given total control over their daughter's sexual activity. Strange.

The age of consent is an arbitrary invention of the law, designed to protect young people from sexual abuse by adults. It does not have any place in a discussion about two young people exploring their own bodies together. Far better to acknowledge the situation exists and help the parties to avoid consequences that may be long-lasting, such as pregnancy or STDs. Aren't we fortunate to live in an age in which such a course is possible? A mere 50 or so years ago, the boy she is involved with would have had the sole responsibility to take care of contraception and we all know how well that worked.

Much of the negative comment on this thread seems to basically come down to a sense that the girl is a "slut" and that her parents should "sort her out". No one has even mentioned the boy. Welcome to the New Wowserism.

Antiseptic,

Your quote,

"Much of the negative comment on this thread seems to basically come down to a sense that the girl is a "slut" and that her parents should "sort her out". No one has even mentioned the boy. Welcome to the New Wowserism."

You've got to be kidding.....have you read the whole thread? I think not.

Folks on here are attempting to have a meaningful discussion and you come up with that crap!! Nearly as bad as 'The Real' Suspect....I could not even bring myself to reply his/her rubbish.

Antiseptic. I don't 'think' that my children are gifted. Due to issues with regard to a difference in my children that made them struggle to be educated and to fit the age based system we sought advice from experts and more than one Registered Psychologists have identified them as highly/exceptionally intellectually gifted.

My children believe that society is sexualising children and that it is wrong. They get so upset with what they hear and what they see it doing to their peers as more often than not it ruins their life. They cannot understand how adults allow it and why adults would push children that way. The wonder why, if children can see how wrong it is why adults cannot?

My children understand that sex involves more than just a physical act and that they can be involved in sex for the rest of their life and they can drink and even choose to have drugs for many, many years to come and that at this stage in their life, when they are children, they do not need to go there and instead they need to focus on sports, having fun, being educated as they do not want regrets and they want good memories of their childhood and to be able to afford the finer things in life when they leave home. They want to get married, buy a house and have children and having sex, drinking and involving themselves in drugs at a young age makes their goals and dreams much less likely.

You appear to just have no respect for children Antiseptic.

Banjo, you may be very surprised at how many girls wouldnt talk about menstruation with their mother. I'm obviously a little older than a teenager, but I remember well the embarrassment and discomfort. We didnt even discuss it with friends except to joke. One girl I knew couldnt handle it and just used facewashers as pads and hid her undies and other evidence. Obviously it was eventually found out and dealt with. I didnt have a mother, so my dad borrowed a book from the library and told me to read it and ask him if I had any questions (sounds a bit rough but even at the time I appreciated it, as I knew he had refused to go to a library for nearly 50 years after a childhood fight with a librarian, so was a big thing for him). My sisters handled it very differently - one came and asked for "supplies" very matter-of-factly, the other came in tears and distraught. Even within the same family kids will handle such matters differently.

But back to the topic again. I keep coming back to a concern about the pill - its fine for contraception, but no help with STD's, which surely should rank as highly on the list of worries. So I think that if in this case the pill was prescribed as a contraceptive, then the doctor and nurse were highly irresponsible (much better would be to help the girl purchase condoms to protect from both pregnancy and STD's). Also if for contraception I'd have though that they might use one of the more long-term devices that are now available such as patches or slow-release chips. Which brings me back to other medical reasons that the pill is used for. Yes, perhaps there is a call for parents to be involved no matter what the medical issue, but much of the hype on this thread has been devoted to sex.