• crybabylu said on Jun 19, 2008....

  I really am not sure about this one.  I think the bottom line lies with us parents, but as a parent, I know there still are things that happen with our children that are beyond our control.
  
  There are things in society as a whole, particularly the media, are constantly making parents work more difficult.
  
  I think it helps  a child raised in a loving home with good decision making demonstrated and taught will usually make the right decisions in life.

  But, even in families where there is lots of love shown and talking and good relationships, peer pressure plays a major role as well.

• kumarilata said on Jun 19, 2008....

  I have to say that I am at a loss of an answer.  it's such a big issue.  When I was a teenager - there was a little bit of sex education which we all giggled at but that was it - my parents didn't discuss sex and neither did the teachers. Condoms, the pill etc weren't readily available. When I started to have sex I can tell you my biggest concern was NOT getting pregnant

• firesky said on Jun 19, 2008....

  as you know, mom, I never had sex till I was married. I am not judging those who do, it is just what I wanted for my life. I also never wanted to have that intimate of a relationship with anyone till I met my husband. Everyone is different, that was just my choice.

• crybabylu said on Jun 19, 2008....

  Kim---I hear what you are saying. My mom never told me anything whatsoever about sex or protection of any kind.

  Cindy---I remember how you felt about things growing up, and of course, I think you made the right choice. But, if I remember right, you didn't even show much interest in boys until you were almost out of high school because you were concentrating on your school studies.

• firesky said on Jun 19, 2008....

  You are right, mom.  I wasn't interested in boys at all.  I was way too busy with my classes in school and school activities.  Remember how much time I spent in drama class?

• theduke said on Jun 20, 2008....

  It is up to the parents to teach their kids morals. Mine did. I knew what was right and the proper way to conduct myself around girls, but I gave in to my urges and started having sex with girls my same age at age 14.  We always used a condom, but years later it bothered me some, because I felt like I took advantage of some of those girls, because I think they engaged in that kind of behaviour with me because they wanted me to know how much they liked me.

• crybabylu said on Jun 20, 2008....

  duke---I hope you aren't still bothered now about that. Sometimes, it is just part of growing up, and I hope that is all behind you now.  I do appreciate you sharing it with us though, because it does fit into the theme of this post.  Thanks.

• curmudgeon said on Jun 20, 2008....

  It's actually kind of a strange thing that we think teens having sex and children is such a bad thing. Human beings, especially females, are at their most fertile in their teenage years. After a certain age, female fertility doesn't just go down, it plummets.
   
  If we adjusted our social mores and child-rearing patterns according to our evolved biology, we might not have so many social problems. It would actually make more sense to have 2 or 3 kids early in life, complete one's education and then spend the next thirty years building a career. If grandparents and extended families were involved to a greater degree, this sort of arrangement could actually work.
   
  The concept of marriage might need to be re-worked in this model, though.

• starchini said on Jun 20, 2008....

  Hands down, the parents are always responsible...always...  or whoever is in charge of raising the kid.   If ur child is doing what her friends do its still the gaurdians fault for not teaching her to think for herself and to know right from wrong and to do what is right.  Of course all children make mistakes but ultimatly the gaurdians are responsible for molding their children into good people. 

• Expendable said on Jun 20, 2008....

  I'd like to point the finger at Title V Abstinence-only feel-good programs that didn't teach anything about birth control except to scare kids away from it and really wasted money because kids continued to have sex, but that wouldn't be fair.

   

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