Teenagers are curious about sex

Morning, I have 30 mins to complete this post and then it is off to my early morning spin class. (MalmoMum this is not Twitter, get on with your post).

I am mulling over the debate on allowing pharmacists to give 13 year olds the pill.  Looking at the Mumsnet discussions most seemed to accept that the pill was better than the alternative: pregnancy.  However, a 13 year old needing the pill was possibly one not in a good place.  Discovering your body and what it can do and what is wants should be a journey, not necessarily full pelt down the Autobahn.

Then I listened to this from Radio 4's Crossing Continents and I felt a bit of a chill down my spine

In Bangladesh, twenty percent of girls are married before their fifteenth birthday. Jemy is likely to be one of them. She is thirteen years old and due to marry a cousin in three days time.
Meanwhile, twelve-year-old Oli is touring the slums of Dhaka, telling parents not to marry off their daughters.
And in the wards of the Dhaka Medical College lies Poppy, awaiting an operation to repair a body broken by childbirth at the age of twelve.
This week's Crossing Continents looks at the issue of Child Marriage, through the eyes of these three children.
It is a practice still rife in Bangladesh despite being illegal. Some call it modern day slavery. Child brides drop out of school and are rarely able to undertake any paid work. Often they become victims of domestic violence. And many, like Poppy, suffer severe health problems as a result of giving birth at a young age.
They lose their childhood completely.
But campaigners are fighting back, trying to persuade rural villagers not to marry off their daughters so young. Reporter Angus Crawford joins them as they try to track down Jemy and halt her wedding. But can they reach her in time?

So it is better not to have bear children until your body has stopped growing and 18 seems a good cut off point. 

At 13, bodies are awakening and developing towards nature's intention of having babies. It is supposed to be fun to make us want to do in the first place. So, if we want to do it at 13 maybe we should; that's what our bodies want. Or is it? I am not one for Nannying but I am not too keen on an open season on age of consent either.  Let's stick with 16.

You have got to start somewhere

Hi, I am Malmomum and this is my first blog so I am little nervous.  If I had been clever enough to spot a trend I would have done this ten years' ago.  I am finally seizing the day now, wish me luck!!

When we moved to Malmo, Sweden in 2001 I started posting as MalmoMum on Mumsnet but gave it up on our return to the UK as I 'wanted to spend more time making real friends'.  This on-line reaching out thingy is just a fad. 

When we moved over I had one Dear Son (DS1 in Mumsnet speak) who was a baby.  I then got pregnant again and had a rather straightforward homebirth with him (DS2) in August 2002.  We subsequently moved back to the UK and I went on to have another son (DS3) in January 2005, also a straighforward homebirth.  DS1 was born in hospital.

I did trot out the homebirth stories a few times.  OK, quite a few times but I did manage to move onto other subjects and interests before anyone stabbed me to make me stop.  So I was a little gobsmacked when I read an article similar to this from a Sunday newspaper as I lay in a bath on the Friday of possibly not the same week.  Yep, I'm a mum:

Despite all of this, Mumsnet’s philosophy is simple: to make parents' lives easier by pooling knowledge, experience and support and what makes Carrie most proud of Mumsnet are the everyday acts of kindness and generosity of spirit, amongst Mumsnet community:

1. First live birth May 2002

Members flooded onto Talk to advise one of our users, MalmoMum, who was planning a home birth but was worried that her midwife (an hour away by car) might not make it in time. Soon afterwards MalmoDad was online – the contractions were coming every few minutes. Moments later, a proud MalmoDad was back - the midwife had not yet arrived but the baby had.

I think I sent off an excited email to mumsnet, promised to post and, funnily enough, did nothing.  There were quite a few not pleasant things going on and they probably did benefit from a lack of on-line oxygen.  But who's too know...

I might even toddle over to Mumsnet sometime soon(ish) and share my wisdom ramblings.  No doubt it's what have been waiting for all these years.  Lol.

Anyhow, pleased to be here.  The wallpaper is a view of the Turning Torso in the Västra hamnen, Malmo. It was being built when we were there.

Toodle Pip