If You Don’t, Who Will?

This article by KD explains how young people today receives their sex education.
I thought my mom knew it all, because she was mom and she shared as much as she
knew with her daughters and and always claimed that her mother never shared anything
dealing with sex education with her.

According to my mom, she learned all that she did from books. Me, on the other hand, all that I learned was from various sources including my mom. I think mom only knew so much. Maybe, our parents aren't the ones to teach us. Maybe we should just be left to accept whatever outside sources share with us.


by KD

A recent news article stated one in 6 teen moms didn’t think they could become pregnant. http://news.yahoo.com/1-6-teen-moms-didnt-believe-could-pregnant-202403188.html.

Can you think back to when you were a teenager? I think I would have been grouped into the “clueless club”. Do you also remember where you got your information about relationships, sex and STDs? I mostly remember it coming from school and my peers. If my parents mentioned it, I probably told them to stop or my embarrassment tuned them out!

I don’t think that tweens and teens today are much different than 20 years ago. If you have children in this age range, you have probably witnessed their embarrassment when you talk to them about these sensitive subjects. So who do they listen to if they aren’t comfortable hearing it from us? Peers, teachers, social media sites, TV or radio? I’m willing to say “ALL THE ABOVE”.

A day in the life of a tween or teen is spent mostly in a controlled classroom and then when the bell rings, the ITouches, MP3 players, and cell phones turn on! They sing in the car, text their friends, watch music videos on YouTube and follow their favorite artists on Facebook.

If you keep up with American Top 40, you know that Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, LMFAO, and Flo Rida are the most popular this week. Do you feel these artists have a responsibility to think about the younger generation “learning” from their lyrics? There has been much Twitter talk about Jay-Z censoring his lyrics now that he has had a baby. The audience is split – some support the rumors that he will alter his lyrics and others don’t want his music to get “soft”. Recently, HBO actor and upcoming rapper, Tray Chaney released a song entitled “Fatherhood”. In the lyrics he says, “I’d rather die than be that guy”. He wants more young adults to understand the meaning of fatherhood and seriousness surrounding their paternity responsibilities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJfaDhrM4k4

Basically, the opening statistic should motivate us to keep conversations open, often and real with our youth. The library has many books on the human body, human sexuality and pregnancy and childbirth. The American Academy of Pediatrics is also a good place to start. Good luck to us all! Knowledge is power. http://www.healthychildren.org/english/ages-stages/teen/dating-sex/Pages/default.aspx