We offer a brief response to the question here. It is likely you will want to talk more about this and about other related topics. You could look at responses to these questions: What is a condom? What is a STI? And also look at the Talking About section – this is organised by age, and you can look for more that supports talking and learning together about condoms, contraception and pregnancy.
3, 4 and 5-year-olds
Children of this age are unlikely to ask this question. However, they may observe someone at home using an oral contraceptive and ask what it is. You could adapt this response to suit your response.
Mummy takes her tablet because we are not going to have any more babies at the moment.
6, 7 and 8-year-olds
Children of this age are unlikely to ask this question, but they may hear older children talk, or they may here conversations at home with older siblings. You may have already answered a question like: What is sex? You can look at that answer too, it may help with any follow up questions. A child may also observe the form of contraception their mum or older sister is using – the answer below could be adapted to suit.
Contraception is a medicine that grown-ups use to stop them making a baby. So, mummy takes a pill every day/Mummy has this little rod in her arm/Mummy gets an injection every few months. None of these hurts at all. If I wanted to have a baby, I would stop using contraception.
9 and 10-year-olds
At this age it can be appropriate to answer the question and also give some information about types of contraception used. If you wish, you can personalise and share which method you/mum uses.
Contraception is a medicine that a woman can use to prevent her getting pregnant when she has sex. There are different kinds.
A woman can take a pill, have an injection or have a little implant put just under the skin on her arm. All these things are a medicine that stop the woman from becoming pregnant. None of these hurt. When a woman wants to have a baby, she can stop using contraception.
There is one contraceptive for a man. This is a condom. The man puts the condom on his penis when the couple have sex. This means the sperm (his seed) cannot meet the woman’s egg. This means the woman cannot get pregnant.
11 and 12 year-olds
At this age there can be some information about types of contraception used. If you wish you can personalise and share which method you/mum uses.
When a man and woman have sex, the man can ejaculate sperm into the woman’s vagina. If the sperm meets the woman’s egg, she may become pregnant.
If a woman and man are having sex but don’t want to have a baby, then they can use contraception. There are different kinds.
A woman can take a pill, have an injection or have a little implant put just under the skin on her arm. All these things are a medicine that stop the woman from becoming pregnant. None of these hurt
There is one contraceptive for a man. This is a condom. The man puts the condom on his penis when the couple have sex. This means the sperm (his seed) cannot meet the woman’s egg. This means the woman cannot get pregnant.
13, 14 and 15 year-olds
16, 17 and 18 year-olds
There is a lot of information here, but to make sure young people understand how to use contraception properly they would probably benefit from more conversations, and you will find this in Talking About Contraception (13-, 14- and 15-year-olds) and Talking About Contraception (16-, 17- and 18-year-olds).
When a man and woman have sex, the man ejaculates sperm into the woman’s vagina. If the sperm meets the woman’s egg, she may become pregnant. If a woman and man are having sex but don’t want to have a baby, then they can use contraception. There are different kinds.
A woman can take a pill, have an injection or have a little implant put just under the skin on her arm. All these things are a medicine that stop the woman from becoming pregnant. They contain hormones that affect the woman’s reproductive system.
A woman can also have a small device fitted inside her vagina by a nurse or doctor – this is called an IUD or IUS.
There is one kind of contraception that a man can use. A condom. A man fits the condom over his penis when it is erect. During sex, his sperm comes out when he ejaculates. The sperm collects in the condom instead of going into the woman’s vagina. So, the sperm cannot meet the egg. There is also a condom that a woman can use. It is an internal condom that fits inside her vagina. During sex, the man’s sperm comes out when he ejaculates. The sperm collects in the internal condom so that it can’t meet the egg. So, it basically does the same job as the condom a man can use.
This final paragrpah in this answer talks about Emergency Contraception. This is very important information and useful for young people to know and understand long before they are having sex. Again, more in the Talking About section of the Chat.
You may need Emergency Contraception if you have had unprotected sex. Unprotected sex is sex without using any contraception, or if your contraceptive has failed – for example, your condom split. You can get emergency contraception for free. You can get the emergency contraceptive pill from a local pharmacy/chemists and from a sexual health clinic. Because of the risks of STIs you might want to think about going to a sexual health service for STI testing.
theChat.scot 