Jeremy Ports #3

Parents' Sex Talk with Kids: Too Little, Too Late

[CNN]The sex talk is never easy. It's not comfortable for anyone involved — parents are afraid of it, children are mortified by it — which is probably why the talk so often comes after the fact. In the latest study on parent-child talks about sex and sexuality, researchers found that more than 40% of adolescents had had intercourse before talking to their parents about safe sex, birth control or sexually transmitted diseases.

That trend is troublesome, say experts, since teens who talk to their parents about sex are more likely to delay their first sexual encounter and to practice safe sex when they do become sexually active. And, ironically, despite their apparent dread, kids really want to learn about sex from their parents, according to study after study on the topic.

I think this article sheds some light on parents that have put this awkward situation in the back seat of their priorities. As premarital tween sex becomes more of the norm, kids have no idea what they are doing and what kind of precautions are necessary to protect their overall health. Young teenage girls are now becoming mothers because they were not aware of the inherent risks that follow having sex. Hopefully parents will become more aware of this problem and adjust the "birds and bees" talk to be more time appropriate.