Replies to '10/07 The Latest Debates'

Here's my twelve cents: 

I am a twenty-something college student and I work with young prenant teenagers. I know that many of you feel that handing condoms out in school is teaching children that it is okay to have sex. However, many of you are failing to realize that without proper education about sex, many young women end up having sex because they truly don't know any better. Also, you could say till you're blue in the face NOT to have sex (until marriage), but some teens will do it anyways. If they don't have the knowledge about how to protect themselves, then they could end up being parents before they are ready. My youngest client is ten years old. And yes, she is seven months pregnant. Her parents never ever spoke to her about sex, and her school didn't cover the topic either, so she learned all that she knew about sex from second-hand and tertiary sources. Now she is pregnant with no support from her family--they thought she should know better, even though they never talked to her about how to protect herself and say no.  

Now I also know that there are many of you out there who feel that parents should be responsible for talking to their children about sex. However, there are so many parents out there who either don't feel comfortable about the subject themselves or weren't educated enough themselves to talk to their children. It becomes difficult to educate someone or tell them to say know when you yourself know so little about the subject. It also becomes a matter of do as I say and not as I do. There are quite a few hypocrite parents out there who say NO CONDOMS, but they themselves had children as teens out of wedlock, etc etc.  

I'm not saying that condoms should be shoved in childrens' faces, but they do need some knowledge of how to use them. At least at school, the kids will get the correct information. Parents may not know all of the science about everything, but our kids do need to be equipped to face reality. Because, whether you want to hear it or not, there WILL come a time when your son/daughter is faced with a decision about sex. If they make the decision to take that leap, at least they can do it safely. 

If more schools offered sex education and at least showed how to use condoms (maybe not even allow kids to take them) and parents were willing to learn a little as well, then I wouldn't be mentoring a ten year old who is about to become a mother.