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Strollerderby
American Parents Don’t Talk to Kids About Sex
A new CDC survey of hundreds of thousands of teenagers has uncovered some disturbing trends in American sex education. Although the Obama administration is looking to move away from the abstinence-only sex ed. policies of the Bush administration–which have been proven ineffective again and again–comprehensive sex ed. should begin in the home.
But, according to Centers for Disease Control, the majority of American parents aren’t talking to their kids about safe sex. Less than half of girls and only 35 percent of boys reported talking with a parent about birth control methods. And the dearth of open discussion is translated into STD rates: incidence of HIV among boys aged 15 to 19 have doubled in the last decade, and rates of syphilis among girls in the same age range have gone up by about 50 percent.
Coming from a family that openly discusses everything from sex to substance abuse, I am certainly naive about the secrecy in other American families, but I still find it surprising that in this day and age so few parents teach their kids how to protect themselves.
And if they’re not comfortable telling their kids about condoms and the pill, I can only imagine how uncomfortable they’d be talking about emotionally healthy sexual relationships–which may have something to do with the fact that 10 percent of young women aged 18 to 24 reported that their first sexual intercourse was involuntary.
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4 Comments
ToddlerCraft.net Onna commented on Jul 17 09 at 3:40 pmI agree! It is really important to have open conversations with our kids. Although I understand that not everyone is comfortable, I think it is beneficial to our kids to let them know it’s ok to talk about sex.
leahsmom commented on Jul 20 09 at 9:59 amThis is one of the best ideas I’ve ever heard about how to talk to your kids about sex – I thought I’d put it out here for others to consider. (This is not me, or anyone I know – just a blogI follow) http://tigerbeatdown.blogspot.com/2009/06/bathing-suit-areas-and-sex-positivity.html
Amanda commented on Aug 31 09 at 12:56 amI never had the sex talk (any aspect of it, even a puberty talk) with my mom. We had comprehensive sex ed starting in 5th grade, and mom just kinda assumed that was gonna be good enough, and spared her the awkwardness of trying to talk to me. I don’t think she even said the word sex to me in that context until I was 20 or so…I’m 26 and married now!
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