Apparently children are reckless when it comes to experimenting with sex, so the government has judged it morally sound to stick a condom into a child’s hands, even if the child is 10 years old (they should be playing with action figures, not with each other).
I wonder if the government has ever heard about not trying to extinguish a fire with oil. The condom proposal is the oil on the fire of ill-discipline that burns among the youth.
The youth is already freely experimenting with drugs and alcohol, now we add to the fire by giving them the green light to be sexually active (just as long as they remain safe).
We can but hope the condoms will be of high quality, and not like many of government’s plans that are full of holes.
Let us spare a thought for our dear mothers who, soon, it seems, not only have to make sure the child’s lunch and textbooks are packed, but to check if the child has remembered a condom.
Remember the ad about a child’s joy because mother has packed a sandwich loaded with a certain cheese spread? I envision an advertisement of a child unpacking a school bag and with great joy shouting: “Oh boy, Mom remembered the government condom!”
Long gone are the days of children being innocent, as in the days of the Brady Bunch. Children these days don’t blush during sex education at school.
They have seen it all, and some, sadly, have already done most of it. The internet, along with mass entertainment, has opened up Pandora’s box as it offers an intensive view into the crude world of sex.
Naturally the government’s proposal has drawn outrage from some children’s support groups, who criticised it as a ham-fisted attempt to come to terms with the scourge of teenage pregnancies.
There are, however, those voices in the community who support this initiative, saying that condoms will help to prevent the extremely high rate of sexually transmitted diseases.
This is also punted as a health issue, and there is little evidence to support that giving out condoms increases sexual activity.
Other pro-arguments have suggested that such a move is necessary, since it is not working for students to receive guidance about sex from parents. It, thus, stands to reason that a school allows for a safer environment, where professionals are able to discuss these things with students.
While it is great to promote safe sex, are we really comfortable with sending a message that it is alright to be sexually active from a young age? Do we have no desire to protect some sort of innocence in the world?
The problem of being sexually active is not merely a physical matter, it also has an eventual impact on a person’s psyche and emotional state of being.
Children are simply not mature enough to handle such a hectic sensory onslaught. while their moral compass pretty much points in all kinds of directions.
We cannot expect children to behave like adults if they are clearly not ready to be an adult. If we hand them condoms, children will feel they are expected to make adult decisions, which is irresponsible on the part of adults.
A child’s upbringing should remain the sacred duty of the parent and, therefore, critical choices and decisions pertaining to the course of a child’s life should rest with the adult.
As a teenager, you think you know it all, but as you grow older, you actually realise you knew nothing. For this reason, it is dangerous to hand condoms to children.
Children do believe they are mature enough to handle such responsibility, but the truth is that they are ill-prepared, mentally and emotionally, to head down the tricky road of sexual activity.
One can understand the argument that children will experiment, no matter what, and that, therefore, handing out condoms is a good idea, as it will help with preventing an already bad decision from turning into a disaster.
Maybe to support such an argument is an easy escape route, because it remains the responsibility of parents to make sure their children are raised properly.
This proposal by the government cannot be condoned, for it will be the death knell for any remaining innocence.
Children should be allowed to be children, not be in the position of raising children themselves.