The average age of fathers in England and in Wales has increased from 31 in the early 90s to 33 today, and with Britain¡¯s obesity-ridden, binge drinking culture, it probably could be argued that men are not doing themselves many favours.

An 18-year-old man might not be anywhere near thinking about having children, but Dr. Kevin Smith says that earlier fatherhood should be promoted to young men and the NHS should support them in freezing their sperm.

This is to avoid the risk of children suffering genetic disorders, as the sperm of older men apparently contains larger numbers of mutations, meaning that it is more prone to things like autism and schizophrenia. Men in their 40s or older might prefer to use frozen younger sperm rather than the fresh stuff.

It could be argued that sperm freezing not only provides an artificial approach to reproduction, but also a false sense of security – freezing a man¡¯s sperm does not necessarily guarantee men a baby.

Difficult words: -ridden (be full of), binge drinking (drinking a lot), promote (to tell someone to do something), NHS (National Health Service), prone to (likely to suffer from), fresh stuff idiom (material that is not created right then), artificial (unnatural).