SultanOfSwing

HPV vaccine should be a matter of course, just like the MMR or tetanus but you know how batshit crazy some people get regarding vaccinations in the US

dc koop

Why should it not be the parents responsibility ? Could it be that it's because parents are too embarrassed to discuss the subject with their kids so "let the schools take care of it instead" ?

I imagine that any kid would feel more at ease asking his parents questions on the subject during an open discussion that asking a teacher in the classroom such questions

Anian

Many parents are so up tight about sex that their kids won't get any "education" about it until their wedding night.

I don't know why anyone would be against the teaching of basic biology and healthcare. Oh yeah, it inconveniently sidesteps religion as a means of social control.

SultanOfSwing

I don't know what universe you live in, but there was no way I was ever going to ask my parents any kind of question about knobbing at all.

Wintersong

Any kid?

That's pretty blinkered, to be honest.

Sure, in an ideal world all parents would be well educated, have great relationships with their kids, and have fostered an environment of open and honest discourse.

But let's consider the real world.

Half the population has a below average IQ.
900,000 children per year are the victims of abuse or neglect.
61% of children are more likely to seek sexual advice from equally ignorant friends than from parents.
The highest rates of poverty and social inequity are associated with the highest rates of sexual activity and teen pregnancy.
A huge number of parents are uncomfortable talking about sexuality.

What we have are massive numbers of kids who either don't have a healthy relationship with a parent, don't have a parent, have a parent who isn't intelligent enough to know when they're spreading misinformation or to understand the truth, or have a parent who simply refuses to speak about sex.

I have taught multiple classes of 11yr olds this precise subject and, believe you me, the thought that all parents can be wholly responsible for teaching accurate information about sex is laughable. The misconceptions that those kids come in with are mind blowing, and I can tell you right now that the majority will ask questions during these classes that they would never ask their parents (don't forget - most kids simply want to please their parents and don't want their parents to think badly of them. Their Biology teacher is a much safer prospect when it comes to sharing something that is potentially shameful or embarrassing).

Should it be the parents' responsibility? Yes. But let's get real - far too many parents can't or won't, and far too many kids would fall through the cracks. Since society ends up paying the price for kids born to parents who are too young, can't take the responsibility and are not financially capable of raising a child, the responsibility to ensure that all kids receive an adequate sex education rests on all our shoulders.

scrubbedexpat091

Not unique to Texas. Many areas are seeing STD outbreaks these days. Regions in Canada have seen increases in gonorrhea and syphilis in the last few years.

People tend to have more casual sex these days and more sex with more partners increases risks of STDs.

I can only find data for 2010, but stats Canada reports condom use for ages 15 to 24 was only 68% average.

Albera had one of the highest use rates at 73% but still has issues with gonorrhea and syphilis outbreaks.

15 to 17 year olds are moat likely to use condoms with 80%.

Certainly not unique to Texas.

dc koop

Too bad then but there's truth in it. My dad probably felt perfectly at ease joking about sex at the Men's Working Club but if the subject had been mentioned at home then the full wrath of an offended Yorkshireman would have descended on my head My mother was Catholic and sex was taboo.

I don't blame them in a way. They were products of their time and generation. We now live in the 21st century. There's no excuse for parents these days to have any awkward feelings about the subject. There are plenty of books available. Buy them and let the kids read and be prepared to answer questions.

My first "education" about sex was from drawings and scribbles on lavatory walls. I didn't even know about the covert joys of masturbation until I was clued up by a pal at the age of sixteen

SultanOfSwing

Your mates mustn't have liked you very much. Three wasted years, there

scrubbedexpat091

Just give everyone an anti depressant. Then nobody will have a sex drive and not have sex.....

( not being serious. Many if not most kill sex drives to a point you feel no real need for it. At least the ones I have taken.)

SultanOfSwing

I have heard that but it didn't happen when I was on them. Not that the local fanny was beating a path to my door at the time either, of course. At least I was happy and not getting any, as opposed to the alternative, I suppose

dc koop

Course you wouldn't. Neither would I have but that was then. We should have moved on a bit. Better to start teaching a child going through puberty about the subject through educational books and discussions at home. This is what my daughter is doing at the moment with her eldest girl and she's absolutely right.

dc koop

I certainly made up for those three wasted years though

Wintersong

Yes, she is, and kudos to her. The education that your granddaughter is receiving is undoubtedly more in-depth and superior to anything she will receive at school.

But there aren't too many parents like your daughter, sad to say.

LondonSquirrel

I think condoms do work pretty well if used correctly. A colleague was married for several years using only condoms until they decided to go for a baby, at which point she got pregnant. Daughter is now 16 and no other children, so the condoms continued to work. She couldn't take the pill for health reasons.

SultanOfSwing

It wasn't that long ago, thank you very much.

I keep it practical (with my son, my daughter is only six and I plan to be dead before she becomes sexually active):

Don't put your dick in crazy, don't put your dick in anything unless it's wrapped, and stay single for as long as you can because it will forever remain the best years of your life.

He knows the biology, and what the undesirable end results are, but I'm not sitting down with him and having touchy feely conversations with him about getting his end away, either.

That's how it is for us. My wife couldn't go on the pill because of her blood pressure, so I rubber up. Can't take the blame for the child she had before we met of course, but in 12 years, we have had one pregnancy and that's how it shall stay.