Well, I think that's pretty much to the point. Does that embarrass you? Would you wear that on your chest? Do you find it inappropriate?
If so, good.
If we want to be able to teach our children about sex...we have to be able to talk about it, right? Put it out there. Be able to say things like oral and anal, without passing out. You know why? Because if we don't, we could be risking someones life.
Five Years of Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Education: Assessing the Impact
By Debra Hauser, MPH, Vice President, Advocates for Youth
In 1996, Congress signed into law the Personal Responsibility & Work Opportunities Reconciliation Act, or "welfare reform." Attached was the provision, later set out in Section 510(b) of Title V of the Social Security Act, appropriating $250 million dollars over five years for state initiatives promoting sexual abstinence outside of marriage as the only acceptable standard of behavior for young people.
Oh come on people! The youth of this nation are locked and loaded! They have all the tools they need...and they also have an instinctual urge to use those tools.
Don't take my word for it:
According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
Three in ten teenage girls (31%) become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 – more than 750,000 teen pregnancies a year. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 81% are to unmarried teens.
Despite impressive declines over the past decade, the United States still has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the Western industrialized world. Teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $7 billion annually.
And, what about STDs?
According to the CDC
Nineteen (19) million new STD infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.
In 2004, an estimated 4,883 people ages 13-24 received a diagnosis of HIV infection or AIDS, representing about 13% of the people given a diagnosis that year.
In 2004, an estimated 7,761 young people were living with AIDS, a 42% increase since 2000, when 5,457 young people were living with AIDS.
And from the desk of the American Social Health Association
One in two sexually active youth will contract an STD by age 25.
Some young people, including those who had abstinence education, consider oral and anal sex to be abstinent behaviors and do not realize these behaviors present risks of STD transmission.
Half of all new HIV infections occur among adolescents.
Do we really need to go on? Need more proof?
I'm not saying you shouldn't teach your children about abstinence. Of course you should! Of course, that's what all parents want for/from their children. I'm 30 years old and my mom still wants to believe I'm a virgin. Sorry mom.
But, kids deserved to know everything, not just what you want them to know. For their own protection and safety, they need to be talked to about uncomfortable topics, serious issues. It's not gonna be fun for either one of you, but it's worth it. The alternative is just too big of a gamble, don't you think?
Special Thanks to Holly Detra for the wonderful artwork!
2 comments:
I pledge to be prophylactive with my children...wait, um, I mean I'll teach them about rubbers...with charts and stuff.
Meredith: I agree with you completely. This world is growing uglier and angrier each day. I don't think it's proactive to continue living in the past. Wise up and get with the times. Time will continue and this world will continue to influence children in many many ways. It's sad, but true. And just because someone doesn't believe that doesn't mean time is going to stop for them. Knowledge is power.
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