Dear Aphrodite
Issue date: 11/15/07 Section: Entertainment
- Page 1 of 1
Who remembers that awkward question between you and your parents "Where do babies come from?" The customized and often times brief and inexact response spilled from the parents who tried to keep their children young and clueless about sex until it is absolutely necessary to talk about the subject.
Ladies and gentlemen, protection is on the mind of individuals like me, who want to help those sexually active people. But how young is too young to start dispensing methods of protection like condoms and the pill?
News travels fast especially in middle schools. In states like Massachusetts, sex education and birth control supplies are taking a turn towards serious. Students between the ages of 12 and 15 now have access to methods to prevent diseases and unwanted pregnancies. However, I can't help but wonder, how young is too young to start teaching and encouraging kids to have sex?
Back in my day, sex ed didn't come into schools until late junior high or early high school. Now we see it appearing earlier than ever, and sex is being discussed with youth starting as early as 11 and 12. Who would think that children would be talking about sex or, for that matter, even know what it is?
The age old discussion of the birds and bees is often a brief conversation between parents and kids. But now, adolescents are taking it upon themselves to get educated and are becoming active. With the supplies easily at hand and the encouragement from others, how are adolescents supposed to ignore their curiosity.
The question remains, is age a factor?
Now to play the devil's advocate: With methods of protection readily available and so accessible to younger sexually active people, perhaps the spread of diseases will be lessened.
In addition to protection, the questions about sex asked by curious children that aren't answered by parents will finally have answers, and the curiosity and fascination with sex will remain a mystery for the much longer. All these beliefs are hopes for parents as their children grow up and move into the years of experimentation and relationships.
Being sexually comfortable in your own skin is good when done safely and at the appropriate times. So middle schoolers should be educated about the adult subject of sex and, most importantly, how to be safe.
No one wants babies having babies or diseases!
Ladies and gentlemen, protection is on the mind of individuals like me, who want to help those sexually active people. But how young is too young to start dispensing methods of protection like condoms and the pill?
News travels fast especially in middle schools. In states like Massachusetts, sex education and birth control supplies are taking a turn towards serious. Students between the ages of 12 and 15 now have access to methods to prevent diseases and unwanted pregnancies. However, I can't help but wonder, how young is too young to start teaching and encouraging kids to have sex?
Back in my day, sex ed didn't come into schools until late junior high or early high school. Now we see it appearing earlier than ever, and sex is being discussed with youth starting as early as 11 and 12. Who would think that children would be talking about sex or, for that matter, even know what it is?
The age old discussion of the birds and bees is often a brief conversation between parents and kids. But now, adolescents are taking it upon themselves to get educated and are becoming active. With the supplies easily at hand and the encouragement from others, how are adolescents supposed to ignore their curiosity.
The question remains, is age a factor?
Now to play the devil's advocate: With methods of protection readily available and so accessible to younger sexually active people, perhaps the spread of diseases will be lessened.
In addition to protection, the questions about sex asked by curious children that aren't answered by parents will finally have answers, and the curiosity and fascination with sex will remain a mystery for the much longer. All these beliefs are hopes for parents as their children grow up and move into the years of experimentation and relationships.
Being sexually comfortable in your own skin is good when done safely and at the appropriate times. So middle schoolers should be educated about the adult subject of sex and, most importantly, how to be safe.
No one wants babies having babies or diseases!
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