Talk to kids about sex and morals

NST: One baby is abandoned every 10 days in the Klang Valley, mostly by unwed teenagers.
"The Welfare Department recorded 315 cases from 2001 to 2004, and police statistics show about 100 a year," said National Population and Family Development Board consultant Dr Ang Eng Suan.
"Unwanted pregnancies can be managed with education and support from the family and partners."
She said parents must talk to their children about sex to safeguard them from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
Encouraging abstinence is important, but children need information about sex and its consequences to make that choice.
Ang said she felt it was necessary to discuss not just sex and contraception with her 20-something daughters but morals as well.
"I conducted a focus group once involving unwed teenage mothers. I asked a participant whether her mother had talked to her about sex, and she said, ‘of course, she told me to jaga (be careful)’," said Dr Ang. "And when I asked her why she did it, she said ‘seronok’ (fun)."
Dr Ang was presenting a paper at the National Population Conference 2007.
The three-day conference, which ends today, was organised by the National Population and Family Development Board.