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Originally Posted by Intense1
Wow - I've seen it all now. So often on this forum I've seen so many posts that say, in effect, "if you're not ready to deal with the consequenses of sex, then don't have it", and this by a varied lot of posters, mostly on the Sexuality thread. So if adults are being counseled not to have sex if they're not ready, why are you saying that kids should be free to do so if they wish? They're kids, for God's sake. They don't know their own hearts, minds or bodies, so what makes them ready to go for it? Why shouldn't they be encouraged to abstain from sex and be guided by their parents in this way?
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No one should have sex if they are not prepared to deal with the consequences. Subsequently, that means teens--the important disclaimer here is that if teens are educated and prepared to deal with the consequences of their actions, then that is the best their parents can do. However, that also means that teaching them that abstinence is the only solution is not viable or practical.
Tell me, did you wait until marriage for sex? No. Most people do not. According to my human sexuality textbook, about 8% of modern American couples wait until marriage for sex. Studies done by the CDC show that most women don't wait past 24 to engage in intercourse, and those who wait past that point are more than likely not to engage in intercourse at all. So that would show that most who do wait for marriage for sex do marry early.
Therefore, it is our public responsibility to teach children about sex. As young as possible. Yes, that's right, I said as young as possible. Even now I know parents who are laying the foundations with their four year olds. What else are they supposed to do when a younger sibling comes along? Say that the stork brought it? I don't think so. No, most kids I know who are that young and have siblings know the proper terminology and have the foundation for learning later what sex is about.
But overall, it is, in my mind, a process that parents should be taking charge of, and not schools. Schools should not be responsible for teaching children about sex. Even my cousin says that she can remember how you could tell the kids who knew and the kids who didn't apart in her health class in 7th grade--that's 12 years old, by the way. In my opinion, that division shouldn't be happening as much as it does--parents should be taking the obligation for teaching their children what they need to know about sex, and if that includes abstinence, then that is what they need to know. The school should be under no obligation to teach a curriculum that emphasizes abstinence. They are a secular institution, and largely the subscription to the idea of abstinence is a religious one--therefore they should stay out of it, and teach what is most likely to keep people safe.