I READ that there has been concern about plans in Oxfordshire to allow girls as young as 11 to be given the morning-after pill.

While this may be necessary as an emergency safety net, surely more should be done to discourage teens from having sexual relations.

Until fairly recently, it was expected that most people would wait until marriage before they ‘went all the way’.

This was a protection for women against having babies until there was a husband to love and care for the woman and her child.

Trendies may say this is old-fashioned, but it saved a great deal of heartbreak, loneliness and poverty. Of course, many single mums do a great job in difficult circumstances of bringing up their children, but statistics show that married couples’ children do better at school, suffer less poverty and are less likely to abuse alcohol or take drugs. This is also much cheaper for taxpayers.

Lads should be taught about loyalty and commitment.

Yet, unfortunately, the benefits system works against married couples, and gives more money to single parents.

This needs to be changed. Sex education should inform youngsters of how hard it is to be a single parent, and that they should wait until marriage.

A WILLS, (address supplied)