The number of youngsters with sexually transmitted infections (STI) has almost tripled in the last five years.

And in the first half of 2007, young people between 10 and 29 years of age accounted for 13 per cent of new HIV cases.

These were among a series of statistics Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan rattled off at the 'Love them. Talk about sex' workshop on Saturday.

In the first nine months of this year, 657 teens aged between 10 and 19 sought help for STIs, three times the number of cases in 2002.

This was a cause for concern, he noted.

'Parents need to reach out to educate and protect their youths,' he said. 'If children have knowledge of sex but no values or values without knowledge, there'll be trouble.'

He quoted more figures from various other surveys for his concern:

• 22 per cent felt that pre-marital sex is acceptable

• 15 per cent said that they were likely to have sex upon reaching 18 years old

• 43 per cent of adolescent boys and 23 per cent of girls had sex within a month of knowing their romantic partners

• 17 per cent of boys said that they had sex with their partners on the first day they met.

Digesting these findings were 200 parents at the launch of the 'Love them. Talk about sex' programme which aims to equip them with skills to educate their children on sexuality issues through a series of interactive talks and workshops.

The session was organised by the Health Promotion Board and the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports.

Read the full report in The Sunday Times.