The Strait Times News Article

TEEN HEALTH REPORT CARD / They know of friends who have had sex
Section:Home
By:PAMELA CHOW, POON YEE SUAN
Publication:The Straits Times 24/11/2007

How health-conscious are teens? The Health Promotion Board polled 3,844 to find out their practices and attitudes towards smoking, sex, diet and fitness. Four student reporters with The Straits Times' publication for secondary schools, IN, talk to their friends to find out what they make of the results YES, we know of friends who have had sex, said half of the 10 teenage boys and girls polled by The Straits Times.All 16 years old, they had been told by those friends themselves, or heard about it through the grapevine, they said. All five felt that these teens were rushing things. No one was surprised by the Student Health Survey's report that 4per cent of 15- and 16-year-olds in Singapore have had sex. In fact, two of the 10 interviewed believed the actual number was probably higher.They also agreed with the survey's finding that 62 per cent had done it on impulse. This was clearly the case for one secondary schoolgirl, who declined to be named.She had gone clubbing with a group of friends, and ended up having one drink too many.Under the influence, she wound up having sex with a previously platonic friend. "It just happened," she told a friend.The teenagers polled offered a few reasons for such impulsive behaviour. "Girls tend to be blinded by love, and under pressure, the consequences of sex are discarded," said Cheryl Tan, 16, a Secondary 4 student from Ang Mo Kio Secondary School.Meanwhile, boys have raging hormones.All agreed that sex education in most schools lacks information on how to tackle real-life situations, like how to say no. Also, sex education should not be confined to upper-secondary levels, suggested Delfilia Surya, 17, a Sec3 student at Cedar Girls' Secondary School. "Schools should teach sex education at a younger age," she said. "It starts too late."Others had more hard-sell tactics. "Organisations that help Aids patients should give talks to scare teenagers," said Tan Xin Lin, 15, also from Cedar Girls' Secondary.Others urged parents to talk about the birds and the bees, and improve parent-child relationships.But, they all agreed, in the end it was up to the individual to make the right decisions at the crucial moments in their lives.

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