Michelle Heaton is worried her children will lose their virginity at too young an age when they become teenagers.
The 39-year-old singer waited until she was completely ready to have sex with a boyfriend whom she loved, but as a mother she fears that her kids, Faith, seven and four-year-old Aaron, will bow to pressure to have sex too early in their lives.
Writing in her column for Closer magazine, she said: "I don’t feel you should necessarily wait for the man you want to marry, but just for the one you want to spend that special moment with – rather than sleeping with someone for the sake of it. I do worry with my own children getting swept away by this ‘fashion’."
The former Liberty X member – who has her kids with husband Hugh Hanley – doesn’t think there is a "right age" to have sex but she was pleased with how her first time went at the age of 17.
She explained: "I lost my virginity when I was 17 and it was the right time for me – I was in a steady relationship. While I believe there is no right age to lose your virginity – apart from being over 16 – it has to be the right time for you. "
The television personality also claimed that it "didn’t surprise her" that a recent survey showed that many young people thought they’d had sex too soon after they had lost their virginity.
She said: "It didn’t surprise me that a survey of young people revealed their biggest regret was having sex too soon. I sound like an old woman but the youth of today seem to throw their virginity away at the drop of a hat."