We’ve all heard the recommendations that we should start talking to our kids about sex really, really early – but do we need to start buying them condoms before they get out of middle school? One Swedish company thinks so.
Swiss Condom Maker Lamprecht AG started its new extra small condom line after a study by the Swiss Federal Commission for Children and Young uncovered a sharp up-tick in the number of children between the ages of 12 and 14 having sex and getting pregnant. Nysse Norballe, a spokesperson for Lamprecht, says that the company would like to expand to other markets, especially the UK which has the highest rate of underage conception in Europe.
15 year old British girl Chantelle Stedman makes Norballe’s point rather handily – she gave birth in 2009. Originally, she thought Alfie Patten, 13, was the father. DNA tests showed he was not, which means that not only was she sexually active at age 14 and before, she was sexually active enough that she didn’t know exactly who the father of her child was.
Researcher Nancy Bodmer, who ran a UK study at the Centre for Development and Personality Psychology at Basel University, told the Telegraph that they were shocked to find that young boys neither have well developed sexual knowledge nor have much sense of responsibility should they get a girl pregnant. Their research concluded that early prevention – aka child sized condoms – only made sense.
Lest you think that this concern is only applies to slutty European tweens, a quarter of 15 year old American girls and just short of 30% of 15 year old American boys have already had sex. Approximately 4 in 10 young women in the U.S. have become pregnant at least once before turning 20 and childbearing teens cost the U.S. taxpayers almost 7 billion dollars every year for social services and lost tax revenues.
Comments
Sara Welsh
March 8th, 2010 - 11:22:52 AM
While the conservative in me wants to lock these kids in their rooms and homeschool them all until their 18, I kind of understand this company's line of thinking. Kids whould be educated by their parents about sex, where babies come from, etc, from a young age (it really depends on the child but I'd say from when the child starts noticing the opposite sex). Maybe having condoms available will lower the chances of babies having babies. I think it will depend if stores sell them to underage kids.
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Jeanne
March 8th, 2010 - 12:53:35 PM
While it makes sense, I cannot imagine what boy would buy an "extra small" size. I know men who don't need to but insist they need those Magmum XL ones.
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Rachel Green
March 8th, 2010 - 6:33:28 PM
how much are they? Because if they are to expensive kids will not want to buy them. They wont tell their parents to get them because of course they will not want them to know that they are having sex.
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Steve
April 10th, 2010 - 11:33:48 AM
I wouldn't think price would be an issue. It's more likely that schools and youth clubs would dispense them free of charge.
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Massachusetts Town School Condom Policy Sparks Controversy | Vivastic
July 7th, 2010 - 4:01:56 PM
[...] kind of policy could cause this much hubbub? One that allows students to obtain condoms at school. The policy would allow elementary school students to be able to get condoms from the [...]
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