My parents taught me the nuts and bolts of sex from an extremely young age (I don't know any of my friends who learned younger!) and it didn't make me want to have sex. I was so young at the time, the simple facts of how it's done disgusted me and I thought, "I never want this sex thing!" But I knew how it was done and I knew the risks and how to do it safely.
My parents didn't want me to have sex before marriage and they would have punished me severely if they caught me doing it while I was still living under their roof, but they were also wise enough to realize they should teach me about protection. They taught me about the risks of sex without exaggerating the facts, and taught me well that masturbation was an appropriate and safe alternative. (Though they didn't tell me how or anything freaky like that) I was shown a condom and how to use it, taught about the pill.
I was EXTREMELY horny as a teen and wanted sex baaaaaaad, but I also knew I didn't want an STD or to get pregnant by any of my lame boyfriends. So I industriously put my hand to work and I didn't have sex with Alan until I was in college and could get birth control to protect myself fully. (I still don't see condoms alone as nearly safe enough without a second form of backup)
Years later, I'm happily kid-free, disease free, and extremely happy with my kink-filled monogamous relationship.
Sex education does NOT make kids want to have sex. If anything, it demystifies things and presents the biological basis in a way that makes the whole act less sexy.
Kids will be taught about sex from a very young age, but it will probably be by TV and movies where no one ever gets an STD and no one ever gets pregnant by mistake (unless that's central to the plot of the movie). And it's this rose-tinted portrayal of sex that makes kids want to do it. Should we let this mystical "it'll never happen to you" fantasy land be what teaches our kids how to do it, or should kids understand the reality and know how to use the tools they need to protect themselves in the real world?
Sex ed all the way. If parents are worried about an influence that will make their kids more likely to have sex, they should watch their TV and movie intake more carefully and explain about the protection that must be going on behind the scenes to let these characters stay disease- and kid-free.
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regna
(no subject)
Date: 2009-04-14 08:35 pm (UTC)My parents taught me the nuts and bolts of sex from an extremely young age (I don't know any of my friends who learned younger!) and it didn't make me want to have sex. I was so young at the time, the simple facts of how it's done disgusted me and I thought, "I never want this sex thing!" But I knew how it was done and I knew the risks and how to do it safely.
My parents didn't want me to have sex before marriage and they would have punished me severely if they caught me doing it while I was still living under their roof, but they were also wise enough to realize they should teach me about protection. They taught me about the risks of sex without exaggerating the facts, and taught me well that masturbation was an appropriate and safe alternative. (Though they didn't tell me how or anything freaky like that) I was shown a condom and how to use it, taught about the pill.
I was EXTREMELY horny as a teen and wanted sex baaaaaaad, but I also knew I didn't want an STD or to get pregnant by any of my lame boyfriends. So I industriously put my hand to work and I didn't have sex with Alan until I was in college and could get birth control to protect myself fully. (I still don't see condoms alone as nearly safe enough without a second form of backup)
Years later, I'm happily kid-free, disease free, and extremely happy with my kink-filled monogamous relationship.
Sex education does NOT make kids want to have sex. If anything, it demystifies things and presents the biological basis in a way that makes the whole act less sexy.
Kids will be taught about sex from a very young age, but it will probably be by TV and movies where no one ever gets an STD and no one ever gets pregnant by mistake (unless that's central to the plot of the movie). And it's this rose-tinted portrayal of sex that makes kids want to do it. Should we let this mystical "it'll never happen to you" fantasy land be what teaches our kids how to do it, or should kids understand the reality and know how to use the tools they need to protect themselves in the real world?
Sex ed all the way. If parents are worried about an influence that will make their kids more likely to have sex, they should watch their TV and movie intake more carefully and explain about the protection that must be going on behind the scenes to let these characters stay disease- and kid-free.