IT IS not uncommon today to read about cases of teen sex and teen pregnancy in the media.

Students in secondary schools are in the process of passing from childhood to adulthood.

In the course of this transition, they are as likely to be drawn to the topic of sex as bees are drawn to flowers.

It is therefore perfectly natural that sex occupies a place in their curious minds.

If proper sex education is unavailable, students may turn to obscene content posing as informational material.

They may also obtain the wrong information about sex from movies which glorify the sensuality of sex, as if everything about life and marriage is nothing but sex.

The images of seductive models in revealing bikinis used in advertisements and popular magazines often glamorise sex and promote promiscuity.

Teenage schoolboys and girls may indulge in the exchange of unhealthy views on sex.

Online forums can be a source of misleading ideas about sex which could tempt them to experiment.

As young people are not fully mature, they are not always able to view the subject in perspective.

Parents should have the sole responsibility of educating and imbuing their children with the correct values when it comes to sex.

They might consider using educational materials such as videos and pictures to show their children the impact of sexually- transmitted diseases and to drive home the message that casual sex can be dangerous.

Parents should play a key role in passing on moral values to their children and ensure that the sex education they receive provides these young people with an antidote to the permissive lifestyle advocated by the mass media.

Mr Nelson Quah

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