Plain facts spoken by Patricia of Ipswich

John H, CHICHESTER,

No - the reason why teenage pregnancies are rocketing in the UK has nothing to do with a lack of sex education. It's everything to do with the fact that it's encouraged by the Government, which gives benefits and housing to single teenage mums! This also conveniently creates a Labour-voting sector.

JohnW, Manchester, UK

This concentration upon information without morality is destructive. The great liberal experiment has failed. Time to pay attention to facts, not absurd left liberal theories.

adam, London, UK

I totally agree with Patricia from Ipswich

Hakima, Birmingham,

i believe this is definately the way forward in combatting the rising numbers of teen pregnancies and STIs. as long as the children can still be children, i don't see the harm in protecting them from these risks. i'd rather a child learn about sex from young age or suffer the consequences later.

Stacy, Belfast,

when i was a teen they brought out sex ed in sec sch & that was to stop teen preg but it didn't so what makes them think this will they should stop looking at holland.we need to stop making life easy for teen preg and gov need to stop giving home to them if they had to live in hostels & not in flats

R Tariq, southampton , uk

"In Italy, sex education in schools was banned until 1999.
1998, data for teenage pregnancy:

Holland 6.2%
Italy 6.6%
UK 30.8%"

This is shameless misinterperetation of the figures. Look at the demographics of the Italian population! It is aging, so there simply are less teens bound by religion.

William White, Kendal,

Sex education at Primary school is a daft idea. Parental education is what's required.

Charles Bockett-Pugh, Sandhurst,

I'm struggling to understand why people think that little knowledge about sex and relationships is going to somehow take away their child's childhood. Childhood 'innocence' will not be lost simply by some basic relationship lessons, and 5 year olds are hardly going to be having in depth sex lessons.

Alex, Cardiff, Wales

All I can say is unbelievable. I didn't know about sex until I was in my teens. Toys were all that I was interested at 5. The govt. continues to miss the point with sex education as it has with violence amongst children. Teach children this young and expect more pregnancies amongst pre-teens.

Marcus, London, England

What is most odiuos about this is the compulsion element.As a decent caring father,I should have the right to withdraw my children from these lessons,should I consider it necessary.What about my rights as a parent?What will be taught and by who?Will they teach about marriage?This is Big Brother!

raymond joseph douglas, northampton, uk

When I was five, my interests were holding frogspawn, Mr. Blobby and the noise rice krispies made, as for sex education, I had none of this cabbage patch, doctor put it there business....just straight facts! Fair enough with how are babies made questions though, I think they'll find that interesting

Heather, Derby, , UK

In Italy, sex education in schools was banned until 1999.
1998, data for teenage pregnancy:

Holland 6.2%
Italy 6.6%
UK 30.8%
(source: Unicef)

Sex education reducing teenage pregnancy rates?
Seems just as likely to be pasta consumption.
It is grossly dishonest to say otherwise.
Shame on them.

Luigi, Loughborough,

Perhaps we should go back to basics and try to design an education system that teaches all kids how to do simple maths and to read and write. Only when we've done that, we can move on to more complicated things.

M smith, Bangkok, Thailand

The high sexual activity in young children is down to the amount of porn that is readily available and the lack of personal responsibility being taught. This is a fix of the after effects and not the problem. Fix societies tollerance of sex on TV, cinema and newspapers.

joe, Edinburgh, Scotland

Holland has much lower welfare benefits for single mothers and young single mothers who don't live with parents are placed in hostels with creches and encouraged out to work. This is the real reason they have the lowest teenage pregnancy rate in Europe.

Kevin, Watford, England

This is a bizarre move in light of STDs and pregnancies in teenagers in the UK. Politicians must live in a completely different world to the rest of us. This will not work in the UK without the family. The liberals have destroyed the family and think the state can take its place. It will not work.

Lawrence, Hale, Chesire, UK

I think this is a brilliant soultion to the unbreakable wall between parents and children. By teaching at school it makes it easier for the parents, they don't have to make up stories of how people have babies or explain towards the adult videos. However children might have sex more often.

bilguun, london, england

I don't want the right to choose when to talk to my child about relationships, sex and reproduction, drug and alcohol abuse etc to be taken away from me. When my child comes home from school I want to be able to talk to him about his reading and writing etc NOT what girls bodies are like.

Sharon, Leeds,

As a Secondary school teacher, I am appalled by the views of some parents on this site. I do have personal morals, and am upset when children ask me if a crisp packet is a safe form of contraception; or tell me that they watched porn with their dad. Children need facts not ignorance!

J.MacKenzie, Stoke, England

The UK Gov has failed miserably to reduce teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Children need to be taught that they have to take responsibility for their actions and abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage. Cleaning up our sex-saturated media would also help

Tim, Reading, UK

What a joke! The government are desperately trying to `fix' the problem of high teenage pregnancies by introducing this policy - it's like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted. They're barking up the wrong tree - leave 5 year olds to be 5 year olds, those years of innocence are precious!

Debs, Sheffield, UK

Everyone seems to be jumping to conclusions on this subject. They aren't going to start teaching 5 year olds about sex and condoms etc. At 5, I certainly didn't know certain details I would have liked to about myself and others, and I don't think parents can fill in all the gaps.

Joe, Derby, United Kingdom

I totally agree with this. I believe in open communication with your child but at their age level. They are very curious about the differences early. Parents and schools need to work together for a more responsible child. The more they know the better off they will be!

suzy, Novato, CA, USA

Why is this so controversial? No child is harmed from hearing about human sexuality, regardless of whether it prevent pregnancy or not. This is science. This is education. This is basic knowledge about their own bodies. Are people that afraid of having educated children?

H May, PDX OR, USA

I don't have children, but I'm becoming increasingly disinclined to bring any into a world like this, especially in this country.

Richard, Marlow, UK

I agree with those who refer to the Dutch system as a good example to look at. However, not everything is down to education in the classroom, and when it comes to the influence of the family socio-economic background we lose out with respect to Holland.

Fran, Barton-le-Clay,

Ayshe, London Thanks for producing the only piece of evidence here. In Holland the parents are not embaressed like English parents and do teach their kids sex ed early. They do not have a high teenage pregnancy rate. UK, GET OVER YOUR EMBARASSMENT

Kazuki, Tokyo, Japan

There is indeed no evidence that we need even more sex education, and forced on our youngest children. The government has entirely failed and more of the same is just no good.

Peter, Maidstone,

How can children be taught such stuff by a teaching profession who does not believe in such values or adheres to them.

Shaffiq Mahmood, Halifax, UK

Benefits- its not just the 'tracksuited' classes who get pregnant at an early age.
Loss of innocence- these days kids grow up a lot younger, better they grow up responsibly.
The stats elsewhere in EU are unquestionable. With respect to parents who can educate their children properly, many can not.

tom, London,

As someone who grew up within the confines of church human bodies are not discussed nor sex when older, it is ignored as if that will make it go away. Education is the only way to change, especially with the narrowmindess of religious faiths who deal with the baby not try and stop the pregnancy.

spencer, london, uk

MY opinion is that from the age of 5 children should be taught HOW AMAZING they are! how amazing every human being is,they should be taught how every little part of their bodies work (including reproduction of course) and respect for these UNCONTROVERSIAL FACTS and their own bodies/minds wd follow

CORAL, Bury St Edmunds, England

The incompetence of parents is astounding. They endanger their children due to their own embaressment.

All the kids who got taught it young were more responsible. All the kids who didn't, were involved in teen pregnancy or got AIDS, and/or suffered higher divorce rates. Pass on to the kids!

Kazuki, Tokyo, Japan

ludicrous. What happened to the age of innocence. Better the goverment stops dishing out benefits for yopung girls than waste time on a programme that undermines the essence of childhood. As a father I will take full responsibility for my daughters sex awareness they don't need nannying by the state

Paul, London, UK

Lack of sex education is not the reason for the explosion in underage sex. Children today are exploited at every level through television, films and papers. There is nothing left for them to imagine because it is all out there for them to watch.

Gilmartin, Bristol, England

The system in Holland - one of the most liberal countries with relation to sex - educates children about sex and love very early, and produces the lowest number of teenage pregnancies in Europe. If that's not proof enough to make this happen then it's clear people have other agendas to conform to.

Ayshe Kudratt, London,

It really doens't bother me too much whether or not my kids at primary school learn about sex education. If head teachers think it's important than include it as a lesson, but of much more concern to me is the quality of the lessons like reading, writing & maths.

Kerry, London, UK

Whilst there are a sizeable number of young people who chose to have children too early this isn't the full story - teenagers become pregnant for a number of reasons and the only way to prevent this is to give them the vocabulary and knowledge to say no or use contraception, both at home & school.

Neil, Ipswich, UK

I agree with John, in many cases it's a case of creating a loving relationship where they are in control or filling a void that they don't know how to fill otherwise. The Govt does make it too easy to live off state. All fathers should be named on birth certs, otherwise you cover your own costs.

Carrie, Stockport, Cheshire

Patricia, Ipswich- Quoted for truth. Spot on.

Karl, Canterbury, Kent

Vote Patricia!

David Legg, Ashford, UK

It pains me to agree with such a cynical reality but Patricia from Ipswich is right.

I didn't believe her point of view till I spent time working in a Secondary School in a low income area. They choose to become pregnant also in order to "be loved" by a child - getting little such attention at home

John Swaine, Malta, Malta

I think this is a terrible idea to teach sex to children age 5. Government needs to cut the soaring rate of teenage pregnanies in Britain. We have hightest number of girls who give birth by the age of 15. Giving sex lessons to innocent children destroys their childhood. Its a very bad policy.

Z Hussain, Rochdale, UK

Sex education at Primary school is a daft idea. A much more effective way to reduce underage pregnancies would be to stop paying people benefits to have kids and be single parents. Aslo on drug use make the penalties far harsher and prison intimidating places not holiday resorts.

Neil, Leeds, UK

Sex education is the responsibility of the parent or guardian. Rather than preventing sex at a young age, it may promote it if safe sex is deemed the priority.

Joseph, Preston,

Young, uneducated, unmarried girls are having babies not because of lack of sex education, but because they choose to do so, encouraged by the rewards given by the welfare state: ie. a flat or a house and a reasonable income. Why is this government incapable of accepting this fact?

Patricia, Ipswich, England