Editorial: Child parents in a sexualised society

Three overriding considerations need to cut through the noise. The first is the quality of sex and relationships education, the key to which is the "relationships" element. Aside from providing an understanding of the facts of life and good sexual health, such education needs also to give young people the emotional ability to covet and value forming respectful and loving relationships. This is particularly crucial for those children who lack such relationships in their everyday lives, and are deemed typically as "at risk" of underage sex.

Second, is the importance of parental support and intervention with families where children are brought up surrounded by deprivation, substance misuse and criminal activity. The government is aiming for its Family Intervention Projects to reach 20,000 families by next year and wants all local authorities to "Think Family" and join up services through both adult and children's departments. Scepticism surrounds the scale of these commitments, but they're at least a start in trying to break the cycles of disadvantage and low aspirations passed down the generations - and that can be manifested in children having sex too early.