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If you are 11 years old in Philadelphia, you can have contraceptives mailed to you for free.
If you’re 11 years old in Philadelphia, you can get free contraceptives. And if you’re too shy to pick them up in person, you can have them mailed to you for free simply by filling out an online form.
The website making the free offer is called ‘Teens Take Control’ and was created by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.
It also offers detailed information on how to put on a condom as well as graphic It also gives information about sexually transmitted diseases and how kids can protect themselves.
The website is written in straightforward language geared to kids.
Keep Walking, Romeo!
WMC-TV in Memphis reported last week that over 90 female students at Frayser High have had or will have babies this year, and 20% of the total female students at the school are teen mothers. In an interview, 16-year-old mother Terrika Sutton had this to say about the school’s pregnancy epidemic:
“It’s a shame that all these girls at Frayser are pregnant. But it ain’t nothin’ new…. They need a class where they can teach the girls before they get pregnant, use protection and stuff. Don’t try to get pregnant.”
That’s where the radical Memphis-area “No Baby” program comes in. Continue reading »
How young is too young to have sex?
How young is too young to have sex? Canada has been experimenting with that question, in an effort to protect young teens from sexual abuse.
In 2008, Canada raised the age of consent from 14 to 16. A new study suggests that shift did little to protect the most vulnerable kids: 12 and 13 year olds.
Rather than focus on age of consent laws, the study recommended using existing laws to do more to protect these very young adolescents from sexual predators. They also point out that it’s often not the age that matters, but the age gap between partners.
Who knows about boys better than dad?
As young girls grow older and enter adolescence, fathers often begin to feel a little left out. Suddenly, daddy’s little girl isn’t so little anymore. She’s likely to be less interested in toys and games and more interested in bodies, boys and other big girl stuff.
But while many dads are happy to step aside and let mom take over during this important stage of a young girl’s life, a recent study from New York University suggests that it might be better if they didn’t. Continue reading »
A proposed health and nutrition education program in Helena, Montana has drawn the outrage of parents who fear that the sex education portion of the curriculum is inappropriate for the target audience.
The proposed curriculum calls for teaching kindergarten students about same-gender love and the anatomically correct terms for body parts. In addition, fifth graders will be given the specifics about intercourse and all its variations while high schoolers will get lessons on erotic art and performance anxiety. Continue reading »
It’s awkward enough when your own child starts asking you about the birds and the bees. It’s much, much trickier when someone else’s kid does. Motherlode runs a guest essay this week on how not to handle this particular social pitfall.
Essayist Delia Lloyd writes about her honest, awkward conversation with her son’s 9-year-old school friend. A conversation that covered everything from the basics of human reproduction to whether or not prostitutes can look for work on job boards.
It’s tempting to say that Delia did nothing wrong: this kid was 9 years old, and hungry for information that the adults in his life were withholding. Most sex education experts agree that 9 is pretty late to be starting these conversations with your kids, and a responsible adult is a better person for them to get the information from than a peer on the playground.
But the social norm is to let parents decide when kids learn about sex, and what they learn. Is there a place for vigilante sex ed, or did Delia cross a line?
Remember learning about the birds & the bees? For a lot of us, that meant dusty basement classrooms, the world’s most boring filmstrip rattling along with grainy close-ups of sperm and egg under a microscope, and a tired lecture from our guidance counselor.
A group of Bay Area moms wants to change that.
They’ve teamed up with June Bug Films to make sex ed videos kids will actually want to watch. The group has created a provocative and edgy PSA about sex education for teenagers. Their hope is to get their message out to teens using the media teens are using. They’re distributing the PSA on YouTube.
The message is a simple one: get informed.
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
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