Teach Your Children Well…
My post on abortion got me thinking about the sex education, or the lack of it, that U.S. children receive these days. Though teen pregnancy has been declining in the U.S. in recent years we still continue to have the highest teen birth rate among all industrialized nations. Why? It’s because our children are not being given the tools they need to make intelligent choices about sex.
The consequences when children are taught ineffective, or no, sex education can be dire: unwanted pregnancies, exploitation, STDs, and HIV/AIDS… Just to name a few things. Parents, a child’s primary teacher, often fail when it comes time to teach their children about sex. Leaving their children to flounder in ignorance, which frequently leads to these children making bad choices concerning sex. It’s truly sad that so many parents will not take the time to teach their child about something so life altering as sex, since the results of that lack of education can be so heartbreaking.
This can plainly been seen by the rash of teens who hide their pregnancies, give birth in secret, and abandon, or kill, their babies. What message(s) must these teens’ be getting from their parents that they cannot go to them with a problem that definitely needs an adult’s help? Children SHOULD be able to go to their parents for guidance when they encounter a problem that they cannot handle on their own. It’s obvious that these girls fear that their parents won’t help them, or some similar reason. This is just one example of how a lack of communication about sex can destroys so many lives. Sad.
I, myself, received a poor sex education from my parents, and all I know I learned on my own. Thank the Gods for the copy of "Our Bodies, Ourselves" I read in early high school, because without it I wouldn’t know half of what I now know. There’s also another wonderful book more suitable for preteens/teenagers called "Changing Bodies, Changing Lives" that I recommend as well.
My child(ren) (We currently have only one child, Morgan, but we’d like to adopt at least two more children in the future) will be taught about sex, and all that entails. This includes the knowledge that if they ever get into a situation that they cannot deal with, that they can come to their father, or to me, for help. When children can go to their parents as soon as they need help, then situations don’t get so out of control that they lead to certain heartache.
The bottom line is: When you educate your children about sex you’re giving them the tools to make smart choices about it.
2 comments February 2nd, 2006 Posted by: Ash