Written by Cynthia Workman, Abstinence Education Administrative Assistant
Parents, when you slip your
teenage son a condom on his way out the door before a school dance, what are
you protecting him from? When you take
your 14 year old daughter to the doctor to get her prescription for birth
control pills started, what are you avoiding?
One of the consequences of teen sex is pregnancy. Condoms and the pill help avoid that
consequence. Too bad you can’t put a
condom on your child’s heart, their emotions and their future.
When providing birth control to
our teenagers we are communicating we believe they have no discipline or
character to resist a physical urge for sex.
We wish to help them avoid the consequence of pregnancy. However, in supporting their teenage sex
outside of marriage, we are giving them the green light to behavior that endangers
their health (STIs or Sexually Transmitted Infections), their heart (one
relationship after another without commitment or true love), their social life
(malicious gossip) and their future (higher rates of depression and suicide).
According to the Health and Human
Services website under the page heading Reproductive Health, it states
“adolescents ages 15-24 account for nearly half of the 20 million new cases of
STI's each year. Today, four in 10 sexually active teen girls have had an STI
that can cause infertility and even death. Also, though
rates of HIV are very low among adolescents, males make up more than two-thirds
of HIV diagnoses among 13- to 19-year-olds. STIs often have no obvious sign or physical
symptom, so regular screenings are critical. The most effective way to prevent STIs is to
abstain from sexual activity…” Dear
parents, do you see the words “4 in 10 adolescent girls have an STI which can
lead to infertility and even DEATH”? Why
then, would you give your daughter a pill to take or slip a condom in your son’s
pocket on date night? Why would you not
say, “You are a precious treasure! I
value you so much I am telling you the BEST way to avoid pregnancy, an STI and
a myriad of social and emotional ills, is to WAIT until marriage before having
sex. Abstinence is not a deduction or
subtraction of something from your life.
It is an INVESTMENT in your future and your life! I love you too much to encourage you in being
sexually active at this time in your life.
I am here for you should you need to talk about anything related to this
area. I am your biggest cheerleader!” Be real.
Be honest. Don’t avoid the hard
topics. Let them know you believe in
them and their future and want what is BEST, not what is necessarily easy.
So parents, if you have supplied your teens with the means to be sexually active, you need to ask yourself why. Are you trying to avoid public embarrassment? Are you trying to avoid financial burden? Are you trying to avoid legal responsibility? Are you trying to prevent a consequence, but avoid the behavior that leads to that consequence? Do you realize your child's hear, mind, soul, as well as their body, are worth fighting for more than any of the aforementioned items you may try to avoid. Do you realize encouraging and supporting them in waiting for sexual activity helps protect their future marriage relationship as well as the environment and relationship they bring your future grandchildren into? Do you realize that young people can and will rise to the challenges placed before them with supportive, cheer-leading, honest parents beside them. Challenge your sons to be men of integrity who treat women with respect and honor, who do not view women as a commodity. Challenge your daughters to be respectable women who do not lure young men with their immodest dress and provocative words. Communicate their great worth and encourage them to wait for marriage so they can protect their heart, mind and soul by following the wonderful blueprint, designed for our good, and handed down from our Creator.
