Sunday, May 30, 2010

Sue Scheff: Straight Talk - Teens and Sex - The Real Truth

With today's ever expanding Internet and television shows such as 16 and Pregnant, the vast amount of materials that are available to teens today about sex education is tremendous.  There are no excuses for teen pregnancies.  The availability of contraceptives as well as the many resources that are open to teens should help prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Sadly, there are some teens that see having a baby as a tool to keeping a boyfriend or even a way to have someone love them unconditionally. 

Without thinking of the consequences, teenagers are not always mature enough to see the full picture of parenthood.  It is not playing house, and it is not a baby doll; Having a baby is a full time job and a massive responsibility.  Some adults have a hard time dealing with being a parent, a teen is hardly ready for this major step in life.

Straight Talk, Teens and Sex of Jacksonville is an organization that is designed to reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy and the spread of AIDS and other sexuality transmitted infections (STI's).
The facts about youth and sexual activity:

  • Most very young teens have not had intercourse: 8 in 10 girls and 7 in 10 boys are virgins at age 15.
  • While 93% of teenage women report that their first intercourse was voluntary, one-quarter of these young women report that it was unwanted.
  • The younger women are when they first have intercourse, the more likely they are to have had unwanted or nonvoluntary first sex—7 in 10 of those who had sex before age 13, for example.
  • The majority (61%) of young women's first voluntary sexual partners are younger, the same age or no more than 2 years older; 27% are 3–4 years older and 12% are 5 or more years older.
Reference: Straight Talk

As summer is fast approaching, teens will be attending parties, sleep-overs, and just hanging out.  Be sure they are educated on sex, relationships and contraceptives.

Be an educated parent, you will have safer and healthier teens.


Related articles:

Teen Sex
Talking Teen Sex
Teen Moms
Teen Pregnancy
Sex in the City 2

No comments: