Sexual Education

Ildri said:
I'm a firm believer in sex education. And I think that just teaching abstinence is asking for trouble. Just because you only teach abstinence doesn't mean that kids will all be abstinent, and it's extremely naive to think otherwise. A lot of those kids also probably aren't getting info from their parents or other sources, so then you wind up with kids getting into some serious messes because they weren't properly informed.

When I lived in England I saw a documentary on sex education in Europe. The UK admitted that it's sex ed was basically non-existent, and that teen pregnancy rates were really high. They also took a good look at the Netherlands. Sex ed there was *really* thorough- they even discussed things like homosexual relations and masturbation. It so happens that they also had the lowest teen pregnancy rate in Europe.
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Read a study a year or so ago, and in fact, posted the link around here somewhere. Longitudinal reasearch followed 2 groups, one provided comprehensive sex ed, one provided abstinence ed only. Across measures of things like "age first engaged in sexual intercourse/activity", "number of partners", "frequency of sexual activity", etc. both groups reported the same results. Only difference? Those who had abstinence only training became pregnant at younger ages and more frequently.
 
jillio said:
Read a study a year or so ago, and in fact, posted the link around here somewhere. Longitudinal reasearch followed 2 groups, one provided comprehensive sex ed, one provided abstinence ed only. Across measures of things like "age first engaged in sexual intercourse/activity", "number of partners", "frequency of sexual activity", etc. both groups reported the same results. Only difference? Those who had abstinence only training became pregnant at younger ages and more frequently.
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Exactly. Whatever you teach people, they're going to do what they want to do. The difference is whether they make smart choices about HOW they do it (ie using condoms) or go about it like idiots.
 
Ildri said:
Exactly. Whatever you teach people, they're going to do what they want to do. The difference is whether they make smart choices about HOW they do it (ie using condoms) or go about it like idiots.
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Agreed. To turn a blind eye and believe your teen-ager isn't going to have sex just because you preach abstinence is naive, to say the least. Just ask Sarah Palin.:giggle:
 
Banjo said:
What if they do?
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Jiro said:
publicly embarrass them :)
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I like this- or depending on age (as I stayed after I was a legal adult at my parents, still a full time student) possible altercation of terms of living in the house...

"Wanna treat this like an apartment? Fine pay rent... your share of utilities, maintenance fees, ... etc etc... oh and your new curfew is ... and no visitors..."
 
FireTiger said:
I like this- or depending on age (as I stayed after I was a legal adult at my parents, still a full time student) possible altercation of terms of living in the house...

"Wanna treat this like an apartment? Fine pay rent... your share of utilities, maintenance fees, ... etc etc... oh and your new curfew is ... and no visitors..."
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I don't think it's wise to treat teenagers in this manner because it would be enabling them to become more rebellious.
 
Don't have any yet- (he's only two) but I knew that if I were to do anything in the house then I would be in trouble...

(married and own house now)
 
I don't allow girls to hang out at my house when I am not home....but understand some Parents have to work and some kids are home alone for a few hours.....Having to trust their teenager to make the right choices and follow the rules....

If my teenager broke the rules and had sex in my house when I was not there...I would get in contact with the other parent(s)...have a meeting with them....and automatically ground my teen for 3-6 months!..I feel the infraction warrants it....If the behavior continued, then it's juvenile detention. Several months of that actually might prevent a teenage pregnancy....As all teenagers don't use good common sense when their hormones kick in....i.e. "condom"...

I've been extremely lucky with my 3 boys so far....still have several years to go with them. But I do "rule the roost" at home, and my word is "law," as long as they live at home.
 
rockin'robin said:
I don't allow girls to hang out at my house when I am not home....but understand some Parents have to work and some kids are home alone for a few hours.....Having to trust their teenager to make the right choices and follow the rules....

If my teenager broke the rules and had sex in my house when I was not there...I would get in contact with the other parent(s)...have a meeting with them....and automatically ground my teen for 3-6 months!..I feel the infraction warrants it....If the behavior continued, then it's juvenile detention. Several months of that actually might prevent a teenage pregnancy....As all teenagers don't use good common sense when their hormones kick in....i.e. "condom"...

I've been extremely lucky with my 3 boys so far....still have several years to go with them. But I do "rule the roost" at home, and my word is "law," as long as they live at home.
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Problem is with grounding the kid... If they will break the rules and have sex while the parent is at work or the kids are home alone... What makes you think they will follow it when they are grounded?? When the Cat is away the Mice will Play.


That is the whole purpose of sex education. Kids knowing how to protect themselves from STD or Pregnancy..etc..
 
rockin'robin said:
But I do "rule the roost" at home, and my word is "law," as long as they live at home.
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That's what I'm going for...

Babyblue said:
Problem is with grounding the kid... If they will break the rules and have sex while the parent is at work or the kids are home alone... What makes you think they will follow it when they are grounded?? When the Cat is away the Mice will Play.


That is the whole purpose of sex education. Kids knowing how to protect themselves from STD or Pregnancy..etc..
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Yes but according to my plan he'll already be educated about that- just not allowed while he is under my roof...
It would really depend on his age at infraction, he could always move out...
It's a respect thing, my house my rules... don't like it move out.
 
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FireTiger said:
That's what I'm going for...



Yes but according to my plan he'll already be educated about that- just not allowed while he is under my roof...
It would really depend on his age at infraction, he could always move out...
It's a respect thing, my house my rules... don't like it move out.
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I understand what you are saying.. I would not want my children and I do tell them they are not allowed to do things under my roof as well. But that doesn't neccessarly stop them from doing things they are not suppose to do at home. As much as I love my 4 teens I have at home. I am not naive and I know they do things they are not suppose to do. Sometimes they get caught and sometimes they don't.

Parents that think their child will not do no wrong under the roof they live in are quite naive. Kids are kids and they will break the rules from time to time.
 
Babyblue said:
I understand what you are saying.. I would not want my children and I do tell them they are not allowed to do things under my roof as well. But that doesn't neccessarly stop them from doing things they are not suppose to do at home. As much as I love my 4 teens I have at home. I am not naive and I know they do things they are not suppose to do. Sometimes they get caught and sometimes they don't.

Parents that think their child will not do no wrong under the roof they live in are quite naive. Kids are kids and they will break the rules from time to time.
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this was what was going to happen if he got caught... so it would only stand to reason that I do have a backup plan if he breaks the rules...

consider 'his' car in my name... *poof*

Or the security system's codes 'fixed'... (disallow disabling with the secondary codes before/after a particular time)

I don't expect him to be an angel, but in picking my battles, drugs and sex are two that I mean- "Not while under my roof"
 
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I think it's very important, so basic, age-appropriate sex ed. - yes. Increasing in detail as school level goes up. My mom was always very open with me about it. We also had it in the public schools I went to, public schools all the way through.

If a parent's religious beliefs preclude that, then the parent can home-school or see if they can get some kind of legal waiver or substitution based on school system's policies.

I like Firetiger's specific grade-level ideas-
 
dogmom said:
My mom was always very open with me about it. -
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Same here.. I grew up with sex education. My mother is an ARNP OBGYN and believe me she educated me inside out about diseases and pregnacy and the emoitional aspect of sex. :lol: She also helps me educate my children.
 
Some old geek told me that safe sex is abstinence. It is like saying safe skiing is no skiing at all.
 
Banjo said:
Frankly, I believe children should be taught the basics at a young age. A large number of parents don't teach their children anything related to sex. It's not healthy for a child to grow up nothing knowing absolutely nothing about sex. They don't know what certain words mean, which can be embarrassing at times in certain conversations.

I'm glad my parents were open to educate me on these matters. I know many weren't.
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Yeah... this reminds me of an episode of Beverly Hills 90210. I think it was Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout It (season 2).

It's about an argument regarding whether condoms should be distributed in high school. At the end, one girl says something like... "Know those swimming pools with fences around them... to keep kids from getting in and accidentally drowning? Well, kids are going to figure out a way to get in anyways. So, the best way to solve that would be to teach those kids to swim. The same can be done with condoms."
 
And in addition, teach kids about what healthy realtionships are! I know so many kids who are CLUELESS about what healthy realtionships are, or who think that having a boyfriend/girlfriend means picking someone you really like and calling them your boyfriend girlfriend...they don't understand that romantic realtionships are based on very strong friend love.
 
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