"The Talk"
Pam Stenzel_________________________________________________
I was recently flying home, forced to turn off my kindle as we landed, I picked up my USA today. I opened the pages of the “LIFE” section, hoping for mindless reading and got smacked in the face with this article: “For parents, “the talk” may need a reboot”. Interesting, certainly as parents we need to update, tweak and even start having “the talk” and all the help available is certainly appreciated. Shocking, no REAL advice on the so-called reboot, just a warning that the government has decided that my 12 year old daughter does not need to have my consent to receive the HPV vaccine at her middle school, or to be diagnosed and treated for an STD. I think the title of this particular article was a bit misleading! Allow me to suggest another: "For Parents, "the Talk" is No Longer Necessary Nor Advisable; Just Relax--The Government Will Take Care of Everything." Oh good, what a relief! Thanks, Government!
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2012-01-18/For-parents-the-talk-may-need-a-reboot/52631566/1
I am pretty sure we have collectively lost our minds! Just days after reading this particularly disturbing article the CDC released a study that basically said that half of the teen moms who were asked about their use of birth control said they were not using it at the time they got pregnant, and a full 31 percent of those said the reason they were not using birth control is because they did not think they could get pregnant. I was not asked to design this study, but I am going to BET that all of them KNEW about birth control, could tell you about a condom and could probably spell it correctly. Thanks to “comprehensive sex education” which has been funded by tax payer dollars to the tune of billions for the past 3 decades, it seems that we have a whole generation of students who know ABOUT birth control, condoms, vaccines and now have access to all of these devices and drugs without ever involving an adult who actually cares about them and their future. How is this working for us? Astonishing, when you read further, there is cursory, fleeting admission that young girls should be given “motivation to avoid pregnancy” and then blah blah blah, we need MORE OF THE SAME education that after 30 years of funding has gotten us RIGHT HERE.
http://news.yahoo.com/1-6-teen-moms-didnt-believe-could-pregnant-202403188.html
Let me suggest it is time for a REAL CHANGE. Time for educators, and health professionals to support parents in their desire to raise healthy, happy and responsible children. Time for the school and the state to INCLUDE parents and stop taking over, using the minority of parents who are not involved to justify their overreach for all parents. And time to finally spend the majority of our resources, time and energy helping teens make the BEST choice, not just cleaning up the mess after they have made the wrong one!
I was recently flying home, forced to turn off my kindle as we landed, I picked up my USA today. I opened the pages of the “LIFE” section, hoping for mindless reading and got smacked in the face with this article: “For parents, “the talk” may need a reboot”. Interesting, certainly as parents we need to update, tweak and even start having “the talk” and all the help available is certainly appreciated. Shocking, no REAL advice on the so-called reboot, just a warning that the government has decided that my 12 year old daughter does not need to have my consent to receive the HPV vaccine at her middle school, or to be diagnosed and treated for an STD. I think the title of this particular article was a bit misleading! Allow me to suggest another: "For Parents, "the Talk" is No Longer Necessary Nor Advisable; Just Relax--The Government Will Take Care of Everything." Oh good, what a relief! Thanks, Government!
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2012-01-18/For-parents-the-talk-may-need-a-reboot/52631566/1
I am pretty sure we have collectively lost our minds! Just days after reading this particularly disturbing article the CDC released a study that basically said that half of the teen moms who were asked about their use of birth control said they were not using it at the time they got pregnant, and a full 31 percent of those said the reason they were not using birth control is because they did not think they could get pregnant. I was not asked to design this study, but I am going to BET that all of them KNEW about birth control, could tell you about a condom and could probably spell it correctly. Thanks to “comprehensive sex education” which has been funded by tax payer dollars to the tune of billions for the past 3 decades, it seems that we have a whole generation of students who know ABOUT birth control, condoms, vaccines and now have access to all of these devices and drugs without ever involving an adult who actually cares about them and their future. How is this working for us? Astonishing, when you read further, there is cursory, fleeting admission that young girls should be given “motivation to avoid pregnancy” and then blah blah blah, we need MORE OF THE SAME education that after 30 years of funding has gotten us RIGHT HERE.
http://news.yahoo.com/1-6-teen-moms-didnt-believe-could-pregnant-202403188.html
Let me suggest it is time for a REAL CHANGE. Time for educators, and health professionals to support parents in their desire to raise healthy, happy and responsible children. Time for the school and the state to INCLUDE parents and stop taking over, using the minority of parents who are not involved to justify their overreach for all parents. And time to finally spend the majority of our resources, time and energy helping teens make the BEST choice, not just cleaning up the mess after they have made the wrong one!