There’s been a lot on interesting comments on Facebook on the VB Wall around our story about ‘The Pill’ becoming available to 13 year olds, over the counter at ten Island chemists starting today.
If you’re not a Facebook user (and we can fully understand why you might not be), here’s the forty four that have been posted so far. There’s some really good points raised.
Tanya Johnson: 13 Bloody hell a bit young x
3 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Juliette Terry: Scary !!!
3 hours ago
Kirsty Agar: Very scary but sadly a real problem with some under educated young girls here
3 hours ago · Liked by 3 people
Suzi Jacuzzi: The youth trust have been doin that 4 years. Im 34 and was given it from them when i was 14 and didnt have 2 inform my parents! Its nothin new
3 hours ago
Kirsty Agar: It scares me as I was more interested in barbies at that age lol!!
3 hours ago · Liked by 2 people
Suzi Jacuzzi: Times are changing
3 hours ago
Debbie Rand: Thats is so scary knowing my 13 year old might be having sex :(
3 hours ago
Tracy Lee Wragg: Taking the control away from the parents! Kids will now get up to all sorts and the parents wont have a clue!! Children should be allowed to be children for longer!! The way the world is going and the pressure from other!s the kids today feel they have to conform to what there mates are doing!! Just to be popular!!
3 hours ago · Liked by 3 people
Jules Jenner: So much for safeguarding Children
3 hours ago · Liked by 2 people
Samual Grieve: Better to have the option there. Is rather know my child had the option.
3 hours ago · Liked by 2 people
Carole Grandchamp: 13 is too young in my opinion. What worries me more is the fact that parents are not notified. As parents we are responsible for the children and I believe their health is included.
3 hours ago · Liked by 4 people
Suzi Jacuzzi: Kids have been gettin up 2 this 4 a long time. At least now they can get protection without the fear of mum or dad goin mad. Yes i agree its young way 2 young but its a fact so maybe we should just accept it n hope it works! If they r gonna have sex better 2 b on the pill than not!
3 hours ago · Liked by 3 people
Tracy Lee Wragg: agreed carole not only that but also children still need to be aware that underage sex is still illegal in this country! children having children is not right which ever way you care to dress it up!!
3 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Karen Amanda Shelley hmmm not ideal kids having sex…but better they dont have kids!!!
3 hours ago
Tracy Lee Wragg: but surely we as the parents are responsible for our children! i am one of the lucky ones i guess as both of my children have been very outspoken with me about sex! and i am happy to say that i have managed to keep the communications open with both of them!
3 hours ago · Liked by 2 people
Jules Jenner: If the girl is 13 and the Police become aware, the male will be done for unlawful sex or ‘Statutory Rape’ and probably put on a sex offenders register (I’ve known of cases). So, we saying girls it’s ok to have under age sex but they’re not saying what the consequences are for the males if Police become aware … or is that changing that too?
3 hours ago · Liked by 3 people
Adam Bloomfield: Stuff being illegal didn’t stop me doing anything when I was younger, I think this is a great idea, it should be the teenagers decision to make as ultimately if they end up with a baby it will be their responsibility.
3 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Suzi Jacuzzi: Underage sex is illegal yet having a baby underage is not! I know as my daughter fell pregnant at 15 n the Dr said there is nothin as a parent that i could do… If this scheme was around maybe she wouldn’t have gone through a still born child at 6months… This is not somethin 2be taken lightly i agree but but at the end of the day they do do it and if this stops even 1 girl goin through wot mine did then i 4 1 am behind it all the way. it sounds like people r more bothered about losing control of there kids than them becoming parents at a young age.
3 hours ago · Liked by 4 people
Linda Cheeki Bassett: Thing is nowadays a lot of children ARE having sex at 13, so better be on pill than have a child at 13, but be better if atsame timespoke to them about sti’s andcondoms too
3 hours ago
Kirsty Agar: I agree with you tracy im able to talk to my teenage kids and their friends openly about sex and contraceptions and the risks ect and i learnt a few things too !! and whats more we can have a laugh about it whilst getting the point across.
3 hours ago
Suzi Jacuzzi: I spoke openly about sex with my daughter and she spoke 2 me with the same openness. This speaking did not stop her from falling pregnant talking is not contraception nor Will it stop them.
3 hours ago · Liked by 2 people
Kirsty Agar: Absolutely agree, but i discussed this with my daughter many times and she refused to want to go on the pill , but last month she came to me with her friend and they wanted to have the implant and know more about it. i expresed that i think it was a good idea and that as long as they understand that they need to use condoms also to prevent stds and cervical cancer ect they should do it. the peace of mind its given me is immense as shes in a 5 month relationship at the age of 15.they grow up too quick and are under pressure to too.
3 hours ago · Liked by 3 people
Natasha Nigel Dix: There has been nothing to stop children buying comdoms from shops and vending machines for years. Allowing young women/girls to be more active and responsible in choosing contraception rather than rfelying on their boyfriend to bring/have a condom can only help. Esspecilly when many cases of unplanned pregnacy arise from unplanned sex.
2 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Angie Pangie: Wouldn’t the time effort and money be better of used to give them better sex education at school 1st ? Seems like they dnt want them to have children so why not try to seal with the problem before it comes to the morning after ?
2 hours ago
Michaela White: How times have changed, hundreds of years ago it was the norm for girls to have babies at the ages discussed above as this is when their bodies are most fertile, it is society that has changed our views today. Saying that as a parent I would hope that my child could approach me if they were in a situation if they required such a pill, however being a teenager myself I seem to remember there were times that I didn’t want to talk to my parents… I was scared enough phoning them to tell them I was pregnant at 24!!! …. does anyone know if there is any counselling or support that is given when they go to get this?
2 hours ago
Nicky Holmberg: I agree 13 is young, but if they want to do it, then will, no matter what us parents think. I’d take the view that at least my daughter was sensible enough to protect herself from unwanted pregnancy. Telling them to say no isn’t a method of contraception!
2 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Vicky Louise Bishop: If kids the age of 13 go to the GP the GP cannot tell the parents. It’s part of doctors confidentiality laws already.
2 hours ago
Suzi Jacuzzi: There was counseling from the youth trust 20yrs ago but i dont know about now. Sayin that chemist have very little time 2 explain normal medication let alone counseling as well.
2 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Luisa Hillard: Very difficult issue – on the one hand it may prevent the trauma of a termination later on, plus reduced the number of teenage pregnancies. BUT how many of these girls are experiencing statutory rape by older boys/men. I fear that this may hide a lot of abuse.
As a parent I don’t like the idea of my child being given medication without my knowledge, or the fact that they are encouraged to lie/keep secrets from me about something so serious.
Plus, a girl of 13 is very young to be pumped full of hormones which have long-term side effects.
2 hours ago · Liked by 2 people
Kirsty Agar: theres more info on the iwcp site, im amazed that you dont even need a prescription for the pill my gps wouldnt even let me have a repeat prescription of it with making an appointment with the nurse !
2 hours ago
Maxine Bass: wot about the side effects deep vein thombosis which can be caused by the pill should be under doctor care to get it .Im all for prevention .
2 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Paula Panther: Thank god one person mentioned the side affects of the hormones, these young girls are not being told the whole truth so how can they make an informed decision,I went on the pill at 15 not because I was sexually active but because all the other girl were on it too,our country for some reason don’t do regular blood checks for ladies on the pill by the time I was 19 I was rushed to hospital with liver failure caused by the pill I’m now 27 and am still on medication for my liver,it will never fully recover,
2 hours ago
Luisa Hillard: Just realised that these girls are using the pill rather than condoms, so what is this teaching about safe sex? How is this measure going to protect our children from sexually transmitted diseases? Will we see a whole generation with an increase in cervical cancer, or a resurgence of HIV and AIDS? Syphilis? Chlamydia, which causes infertility in women?
2 hours ago · Liked by 2 people
Julie Christine Packer: Its good to read that so many of you are responsible parents who take the time to talk to your kids about sex, but someone’s kids are getting pregnant. There are parents that do not seen to know or care what their children do. Yes, the solution is extreme, but so is the problem. Pharamcists now offer many services like Chlamydia testing and the morning after pill, all with counselling. The more ways our children can access information the better as far as I can see. Give them the tools to make informed choices so they can wait until they have the emotional maturity and financial security to bring up their children without throwing their lives away before they have really begun.
2 hours ago
VentnorBlog IslandNews: Haven’t had a chance to get involved in this discussion yet, but really pleased the risk of STDs is being brought up. We should be making sure that all girls, whatever age they have sex, are aware of the importance of condoms, not just to avoid an unwanted pregnancy but to avoid the risk of STDs. ^Sal
2 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Suzi Jacuzzi: The side effects of having sex with no protection r life long 2… Its called a baby! Not 2 mention std’s. Wot ever way we look at this somethin needs doin as the rate of teenage pregnancy is very high.
2 hours ago · Liked by 1 person
Suzi Jacuzzi: And its better 2 use the pill as contraception rather than abortion! I heard a radio news slot the other day about girls having 4/5 abortions by the time they were 19. Now thats bad 4 them!
about an hour ago
”Sam Wise”: Parents don’t have “control”, that’s the trouble, and we can’t, unless we lock our kids in the cellar. We can have influence, and we have to work hard their whole lives to make sure we do. Nevertheless, some parents who have great relationships with their kids will find that they have underage sex, and lots of parents don’t have that relationship. Those kids have sex, and if their parents were going to be notified, they wouldn’t go for the morning-after pill. It’s not a pre-meditated thing “Let’s have sex, we can get the morning-after pill and they won’t tell our mums”, it’s that they’ve done it, and then there’s that next-day “Oh my god!”. It’s better that the kids are able to prevent a pregnancy than not.
about an hour ago · Liked by 2 people
Julie Christine Packer: Free condoms have been available from Island Pharmacies for a long time now and I am sure they will be handed out with the pill. The contraceptive pill is much safer now than it was years ago so the benefit outweighs the risk.
about an hour ago · Liked by 1 person
Suzi Jacuzzi: Well said Julie. I feel very strongly about this due 2 wot happened 2 my daughter. It was a horrible thing 4 her and her boyfriend 2go through. Like i said if this helps stop any1 goin through wot our family has then it gets my vote!
about an hour ago
Vicky Louise Bishop: 1 in 3 uk pregnancies are aborted if this helps lower the rate then I’m glad this is being done. Those of you that are talking about hormones, the pill doesn’t contain huge quantities of them anymore and the benefits have really begun to outweigh the risks. And I don’t know about nowadays but I was taught from age nine about the different forms of contraception so some of these girls may be making an informed choice about this. Perhaps some of them want to be extra careful and use 2 forms of contraception. Plus as someone said, you can get free condoms from everywhere so why would they pay for contraception unless they knew a bit more about it?
about an hour ago · Liked by 2 people
Luisa Hillard: What does it say about our culture that children consider it socially acceptable to have sex at 13? Not only acceptable, but expected – there must be a large element of peer pressure in this problem. I feel that we need to take a look at TV programmes and magazines aimed at kids and take out the sex. Sex position of the week should not be read by school girls, neither should we be buying dolls for our 5-year olds that look like prostitutes.
Dressing our daughters like mini adults is also part of the problem. There is no clear distinction anymore between ‘girl’ and ‘woman’, including the responsibilities associated with that. We have to admit that our society is causing this problem and is sending the wrong message.
about an hour ago · Liked by 2 people
Ray Foulk: Does this show that the Isle of Wight is still at the vanguard of the permissive society and sexual revolution? . . . .And this on the day that Prof. David Nutt (what a name – you couldn’t make it up) produces his report that showing that alcohol is massively more harmful than LSD and cannabis.
51 minutes ago · Liked by 1 person
Ray Foulk see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11660210
51 minutes ago
