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In the wake of a British boy becoming a father at 13, the British government has come up with a new strategy to address the country’s growing teen pregnancy problem.
Parents in the United Kingdom are encouraged to discuss sex with their children and educate them without telling them what is right or wrong, according to ABC News. The government pamphlet, to be available in pharmacies across the country starting March 5, discourages parents from trying to pass along their own values about sex to their children.
"Discussing your values with your teenagers will help them to form their own,” the pamphlet reads. “Remember, though, that trying to convince them of what's right and wrong may discourage them from being open."
Britain currently has the highest rate of pregnancy in Western Europe. But most of the children born to British mothers are out of wedlock, a report, based on data gathered by Britain’s Office for National Statistics, found last year.
For the first time in British history, more children are being born to cohabiting couples or single-parents families, U.K.’s Telegraph newspaper reported last summer.
Moreover, the United Kingdom has the second highest rate in the developed world for under-18 conception, with 40.4 conceptions per 1,000 British girls aged 15 to 17, according to U.K.’s Guardian newspaper.
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Addressing the country’s teen pregnancy problem, the British government is telling parents to encourage their teens to visit the local clinic and get help in making “a choice that’s right for them.”
“Why not offer to go with your daughter or encourage them to take a friend? Or if you have a teenage son, suggest he talk to his girlfriend about and visit a clinic with her,” the pamphlet suggests.
The British government encourages parents to make talking about sex “a part of everyday life” and to start the discussion before their children hits puberty, according to the government Web site.
The pamphlet also includes a guide to various forms of contraception available.
But some Christian groups have expressed strong opposition to the government’s new sex ed recommendations.
"The idea that the government is telling families not to pass on their values is outrageous,” said Simon Calvert of Christian Institute, to ABC News.
"Preserving children's innocence is a worthy goal," Calvert said. "We would like to see more of that kind of language rather than this amoral approach where parents are encouraged to present their children with a smorgasbord of sexual activities and leave them to make up their own minds."
The event that sparked the new sex education campaign is the case of 13-year-old Alfie Patten, who is reportedly the father of baby Maisie, born earlier in February to his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman, 15. Patten was 12 years old when the baby was conceived.
Britain’s youngest known father is said to be a 12-year-old boy from a suburb north of London who impregnated a young neighbor in 1998, according to The Associated Press.
