Because… ~600,000 U.S. teens become pregnant each year …3 million U.S. teens are infected with STDs/STIs each year
..63% of all STDs occur in persons less than 25 years of age …one in 4 sexually active teens will contract an STD before finishing high school …AIDS cases among teens double every 14 months …comprehensive sex education promotes birth control and has failed our teenagers …sexually inactive (abstinent) youths have the lowest rates of mental health problems Talk To Your Tweens and Teens — They're Waiting To Hear From You…
PARENT TO PARENT
By Jan Carroll, RN
Have you ever talked to your children about sex, I mean really talked? Do you know how to, or know what to say? Ever feel awkward or embarrassed about the subject? Do your children act uncomfortable during your talks or ask questions that make you feel uncomfortable? What is the right age to begin introducing information about human sexuality to your children?
These are questions that tend to strike fear in the hearts of many unprepared parents starting with that first typical childhood sexuality question, “Mommy, where do babies come from?” This innocent question has been asked since time began. Few parents 25 years ago felt the need to discuss these private matters with their children, allowing “nature to take its course”. Yet, with the advent of many “family planning” organizations and sex education curriculum in our schools, it is imperative for parents to take an active role in providing sex education in the home which reflects their family values.
For too long now, parents have relinquished the responsibility of sex education to others. We feel uncomfortable and inadequate, so let the school do it. We stick our heads in the sand, look the other way and hope for the best. Then we fall apart when Susie comes home and drops the bombshell, “Mom, I’m pregnant!” Dad immediately wants to kill the boy because his daughter knows better.
Through the years, most parents have voiced their opinions on dating and sex to their children headed by the “you can’t do that” list, and never explain why. Many kids have sat under “thou shalt not” instruction all their lives, and have never known why their religious leader said those things. “Because I said so” may be sufficient for a preschooler, but not for a teenager.
“Just say no” is a catchy phrase these days. It sounds easy, but we need to give kids concrete reasons and guidelines on why and how to say “no”. We as parents must provide the educational tools at home to help them say no.
I am teaching my children to remain virgins until marriage. My fear is that their future mates will not also be virgins, protected and safe from the threat of sexually transmitted diseases [and free from all the emotional baggage that previous sexual experience usually creates]. While proponents of value-free sex education are shouting “teens have the right to enjoy sexual freedom”, and are promoting “safe sex”, we need to tell our kids they can never be truly sexually free except in the marriage relationship, without the worry of past sexual relationships and disease.
Help prepare your children now before it is too late.
[Human Development Resource Council]