Dear Christine,
I am very concerned about the number of teens who are having sex and those who write to you about sexual relationships.
I am a mother of four, and I’m only 24 years old. My first child was born when I was 15. Only two of my biological children live with me, and I have taken my stepdaughter in as my own.
Teens everywhere should be educated about sex and the consequences of having sex at a young age. Many parents still do not have “the talk” with their children – leaving it up to the educational system, which is inadequate.
I would like to urge teen parents or “counsellors” to volunteer at local schools to educate teenagers about what “might” happen when they engage in sex. Pregnancy is not the only consequence. They could be infected with all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases – some which can kill or affect them for the remainder of their lives.
I was lucky that I now have the chance to further my education and provide a stable life for my children which, I might add, did not happen until I was already the mother of two and was 18 years old. To teens out there, please do not be like me. You might not be as lucky as I was.
– A Whole Lot Wiser
Dear A Whole Lot Wiser,
Experience is the school of life which can never be replaced. Thanks for sharing and for warning teenagers about the dangers of early sexual relations.
You are right in saying that you are lucky. Not many situations like yours have happy endings. I am so pleased you have been able to further your education and support your children as best as you can.
I have no statistics concerning teen pregnancies, but I believe the figures call for a measure of concern. Although we wish that teens would abstain from sex until marriage, the fact remains that many don’t.
Teenagers are in dire need of accurate information about how to prevent unplanned pregnancies and avoid sexually transmitted diseases. Parents should not leave sex education up to the schools, although teachers and guidance counsellors are at times called on to play their part in providing sex education programmes that include complete information on birth control methods or even sexually transmitted diseases.
What people do not know can hurt them, and anyone old enough to ask questions deserves straight answers. The mistake we often make as adults is that we put teenagers in a position where they have to find out the hard way by experimenting – often out of curiosity. After that, they pay the consequences and we ridicule them.
A little face-to-face advice on sex and its consequences will go a long way.
– CHRISTINE
