Let me tell you what my mother taught me regarding sex education. She's a HS graduate of 1943. In her day, teenage pregnancy is rarely heard of. If any teenage female came to school pregnant, they're ridiculed and made fun of. Which sends a signal to other teenage females that being prego at a young age is uncool.
Since Congress passed a law requiring sex education as a curriculum in all schools in 1965, following the years to 1973, Roe V Wade made abortion legal to accommodate to the explosive rates of pregnancy between teens and young adults.
What does that picture tell you? Just follow the history and history will explain itself.
I was give boatloads of sex education at both home and school. I'm almost 26 today, I haven't knocked up anyone just yet. Why? Because of the sex education I received. I actually paid attention while many didn't. It's true about what they say, knowledge is power.
The reason why people get themselves into such a situation is because they either lack the knowledge or didn't pay attention in high school. Not because of sex education.
In that case, have Congress pass a law that parents are not allow to teach anything other than be a provider such as clothes, feeding them, sheltering them, provide them money and pay for their textbooks. Only schools is allowed to teach them, not the parents. If they step outta bounds, lock'em up for life. No parental rights, EVER!
What I said was quite clear. You can teach them anything you wish to. But to expect them to share the same values, faith, opinions and such as yours, you're just being wishful and naive. Some will share the same, but most will differ either in a slight or big way. Some conservative parents' kids turn out to be hardcore liberals, it's the same for liberal parents, vice versa.
You made it quite clear that children cannot and shouldn't be allowed to think for themselves before they are eighteen. Well, here's a reality check, it's not going to happen. They will think for themselves whether you like it or not.
But it won't hurt to stick to your guns and teach them your moral values, principles of life and the lessons that come with it and hope they actually listened because then they may apply some of these to themselves. Not to mention that minors are to respect the elders as long they live under their roofs.
The best thing you can hope for is that they turn out to be good, law-abiding and productive citizens of the society in the future. I'm one of them, that's for sure.
I'm grateful for my parents and the life lessons they've handed down to me throughout my life so far. I have applied many of these to my life and it has brought a lot of happiness to myself and everybody around me. It's a shame not many are lucky enough to have such fortunes.