Not stupid but uninformed children who even if they know the mechanics of reproduction do not know how to deal with the emotional aspects and psychological peer pressures. Many parents still can't talk freely about sex and these children remain woefully ignorant on many issues.

Gill, London, England

You hit the nail on the head when you said that kids need recognition India. In a world where 'being somebody' is all important pregnancy gives young girls an identity. There is no other way for these youngsters to feel valued. They see it as doing something important.

judy, Liverpool, England

I love India's casual way of dealing with contraceptive failure, as if it hardly ever happens. Abortion is predicated on girls getting prgnant by mistake. You can't blame the girls for intrisically faulty products.

Meg, Bearsden,

I'm afraid some girls want to get pregnant! They don't understand the reality of looking after a child with little support/money. I have told my 2 sons that always using a condom will stop them becoming unwilling fathers - never trust a girl who says she's on the pill. They can 'forget' to take it!

Donna Walker, Effingham, England

Children think that by having sex they will become more grown-up.

The problem is that they are right, but not in the way that they mean.

Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK

No no, the stupid ones are not the teeenagers: the stupid ones are the teachers and others who cherish an illusion that 'teaching them to know the difference between right and wrong (or between prudent and foolish)' is the same thing as teaching them to direct their actions accordingly.

terry, london,

It's hardly surprising our daughters (and sons) turn out lascivious when we gave them everything without ever saying no. They've become lazy and complacent, expecting everything for nothing. And now that they are parents they are still selfish and their children are completely out of control.

Lily, London,

It seems that a fundamental problem for young girls today is that they don't seem to be told that they don't have to have sex if they don't want to no matter what their friends, or the boys trying to shag, them say.

Sadly a lot of young men don't seem to think girls have the right to say no either

Thalia, London,

The point we are all missing is the moral and familial breakdown of our (the UK) society. This has been promulgated and encouraged by this and previous government legislation, advertisement and so called personal choice.

Where, and what is, 'the family' in our society of today?

Ian metcalfe, cambridge, UK

First thing first , it would be stupid to think that teenagers are unaware about sex and child birth. Media and technology has opened wide vistas of knowledge deluge.What I feel is, to blot out the taboo of the word "Sex",let us name sex education as "Human Relationship education,make it mandatory

sandy, New Delhi, India

A lot of what India says is right, but her analysis of the sexuality of young girls flies in the face of truth. Many are well into masturbation by the age of twelve, many as young as five or earlier. These facts about the young female actually liking the pleasures of sex is hidden too often.

John P, Westcliff on sea, England. U.K.

If teenagers aren't "unbelievably stupid", how come so many get pregnant accidentally? Perhaps they haven't been given enough information about the whole topic and are in need of something more than just basic biology lessons. Many parents tell them nothing so the schools should step in.

Toni Summers Hargis, Chicago, USA

I find it strange that the sex-in-Britain debate (& this essay) is so Victorian. Female desire doesn't exist, male desire must be feared and mistrusted, and girls have sex b/c they're troubled or something is wrong with them. With attitudes like that, I doubt sex ed can do very much for you!

Andrew Baker, Oxford, UK

Why don't the media, the fashion industry, parents and schools join forces to teach teenagers that it's okay to stay young and that they don't have to rush out and behave like an adult. Maybe then, a lot of them would stop drinking, smoking and having sex.

James, Lincoln,

It is not OK to have a child at 17. A child is a lifelong responsibility so few at 17 are mature enough to make the sacrifices, she should be in education, will not have the money to provide for the child nor should she commit to a man at 17. Benefit dependency is not an viable lifestyle.

R Mason, R Mason, UK

"the vast majority of the Dutch are rather old-fashionedly upright in their morals and have a big thing about order and rectitude."

And that is what we need to teach children. They are taught to recycle, to not be racist, to swim.
Impress morals and rectitude on them in the same way.

cam, essex,

Children grow up seeing every day of their lives a man and a women in bed together - their mother and father - or these days perhaps another man. The real problem of modern society is that even a mother and father in bed together cannot be talked about. It shows how primitive we actually are.

Brian Lewis, Manila, Philippines

In response to Chris:
Despite that biological fact that the boy cannot become pregnant (and yes, the girl SHOULD be responsible), that is not a viable excuse for the boy's ignorance or lack of responsibility. It takes two to tango, after all.

TexAnne, Indiana, USA

If you want to know how ignorant children are today despite
sex education go online to Yahoo answers and look under Health. Half of them don't know a tihingi about the basics They are still asking can they get pregnant if they French kiss! They snigger and boast but they are still in the dark.

Kate, Victoria BC, Canada

Surely the number of teenage pregnancies has fallen in the last twenty years due to there being fewer teenagers around (now that those blasted baby boomers are finally starting to die off!)? If that is the case then the rate of teenage pregnancies and comparisions to similair societies is relevant.

Tom, Saporro,

Oh dear.

When a young girl has sex it might be because she thinks it'll make her seem more grown up.

Most of the rest of us simply think that it makes her look like a slut.

At the end of the day, as a boy cannot become pregnant, it MUST be the girl's responsibility to keep herself safe.

Chris Palmer, Winchester,

Despite your later arguments, you still fall into the typical error of Social Services : "young WOMEN getting pregnant by mistake"

A pregnant child is still a child. That is why most of them have sex (or start smoking for that matter) in the first place - it makes them an ADULT, a WOMAN!

BP Vallance, Corfu, Greece