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Early exposure to pornography, upbringing set-up and environment are some of the reasons why your child appears more mature than their actual age.
And this, as revealed by a psychologist, is the reason why your child is very knowledgeable in sexual matters, something that has for long been regarded a grown-ups affair.
Felix Opondo said the environment in which children are brought up today can easily mistake a girl who is nine-years-old for a 13-year-old.
“Children today, as young as eight, understand abstract ideas and can engage you like an 18-year-old. Maturity age has actually gone down,” said Dr Opondo.
Opondo said today’s generation had high level of exposure to issues that were back then regarded as taboos, courtesy of mass media and internet.
This, he said, was one of the reasons why there was high likelihood that a minor would get involved in sex before they reached the age of consent.
Opondo further blamed the permissiveness of the society in exposing children to sexual matters during their tender age.
“Some acts like deep kissing were not being done in public, but nowadays they are. Also, the society has no boundaries in sexual relations where older women seek younger men and vice versa. All these are done while the children are watching,” he said.
In February last year, the National Assembly dropped a proposal to lower the age of consent from 18 to 16 following pressure from activists.
More pressure has piled on the Government to introduce sexual education as the appropriate way to deal with teenage pregnancies.
Centre for the Study of Adolescents has argued that contrary to the claim that sexual education will tear the moral fabric, it can actually realise a drop in teenage pregnancies.
In a statement, the group noted that sexual reproductive health and rights education went well beyond biological reproduction, as it ensured that young people were equipped with a solid foundation for life and love.
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