What would motivate you to practice abstinence?

Question

serious question. I am trying to put on a program that advocates abstinence. There are seriously way too many single teen mothers and sperm donors(but not fathers) in the world today. I'm not sure what we can do to help people teens make smart choices. MTV is far more powerful than I am.

Answer 1

Castration.

Answer 2

Too many people treat sex too casually. It's a powerful emotion, and experiencing sex at the wrong time, with the wrong person, under the wrong circumstances, can make enjoyment of it in the future very difficult, let alone any physical consequences that might result, like pregnancy, STDs, etc.

Additional thought: It's not really an all-or-nothing proposition, since there are ways to be intimate without having intercourse. Unfortunately, the nature of sex is such that people are driven to reproduce, and despite the best intentions to only go so far, they often get swept up in the flood of hormones that are produced and wind up having intercourse anyway. So it's more than choosing just not to have intercourse. They need to avoid the circumstances that might lead to it. Double-dating (mutual chaperoning) is a start.

Answer 3

Find some teenage mothers who are willing to volunteer and work with your program. Have the students follow around the teen mom for about 8 hours in a day. Make them do it for at least 2 days. It should make a believer out of them. Having a baby, a school, and a social life(which is nonexistant) is really difficult to manage. I'm 41 with a toddler. And believe me, it's not easy. Lots of work.

Answer 4

1 - To please God

If that argument doesn't work, and even if it does, go for these :

2 - It's the only truely safe way to avoid a pregnancy (you can get pregnant even on the pill or a condom). Only have sex if you are physically, emotionally and financially prepared to have a baby.

3 - It's safest emotionnally. Marriage requires commitment, which is what you'll want before giving yourself to someone. It's too easy for a person to say "I love you" and dump you after having sex. Having to wait tests your true commitment.

4 - You won't get an STD.

5 - You learn patience and perseverance.

6 - You'll look forward to something special to share on your wedding night.

7 - You'll only have one partner -> no comparisons with others


BUT - It is hard!!! don't even try to deny it or pass this under silence. It is not do-able without some self-imposed limits.
At all times you need to remind yourself that you are not having sex, before every date, and prepare the date accordingly, in the way you dress, your attitude, the places you go, when you come home, if someone will keep you accountable to the time you come home, if someone else is in the house if you just hang out, if the door is open at all times...
You need to decide an ABSOLUTE limit you will not cross, and a relative limit that is before that, aka something you think is ok to do but just not right away, keep a little suspense. For example keep kisses short and sweet the first few months, even if you're not per-se opposed to passionnate kissing before marriage.

Answer 5

Well i am 15 (soon to be 16) and still a virgin, and a little verity of things has kept me abstinate:

1) One of my mothers friends works at a refuge home for unwed mothers, and a lot of them, i have found, are younger than me

2) i have a friend who is 19, and she has 3 kids, she had her first one at the age of 15

3) so far, every woman on both sides of my family has had their first child out of wedlock

4) I am totally against abortion, so therefore i know that if i got pregnant, i would go through with the pregnancy

5) My brother just had a son (of whom's life he is in), and i babysit him often. That stress that he puts me through (although i love him dearly), makes me think twice about EVER having kids.

So, you see, i have many reasons for not having sex, along with the long list of STD's that can screw you up. Also that my brother told me that he used protection when him and his (now ex) girlfriend 'made' my nephew. I don't want to have to give my life to someone else right now. Even with the option of adoption, i don't even know how anyone could do it, i know it has to be hard because i cant' even think of having to give up one of my DOGS!! And also, i want to break the cycle. I want to be the first of my family to be married b4 having a kid. Then maybe the cycle will be broken forever, and my kids (and nephew) would follow in my footsteps. Also, don't count yourself defeated already. Your one voice in the right persons ears could change the world, and be far more powerful than MTV. God Bless.

Answer 6

Do a lot of stuff that are active such as; sports, physical exercise etc. U should keep in mind that abstaining has a lot to do with your brains rather than wearing an iron underwear witha padlock on it. You see;" Your own resolution to succeed is what will make you successful." So if thats what u've decided to do for real, I see no way that you'll fail as long as you respect yourself & keep up with your own resolutions. One thing though, the more right u'll get the more challenges u'll have to face, how you face these challenges will determine whether u'll succeed or not.

Answer 7

That standard list of STD, pregnancy, abortion, cheating, confused sexual feelings, etc., are all a by-products of what is REALLY MISSING. It is the moral and ethical standards that we all used to believe in and practice prior to the sexual revolution of the 60's (BCP, the media, abortion legalized). Young people are missing the concepts of courtship, falling in love, committment/ engagement, and marriage - then sex. (Or at least sex with a loving and committed relationship!) God created sex to be kept in the marriage. Man/woman has taken it out of marriage, and look where it has gone. Very sad. I would try to re-introduce those old fashioned principles along with the other obvious reasons.

Answer 8

I believe so many young people get pregnant because they lack self-worth. To get young girls to see their bodies as a special treasure which no one can have unless they hand out the key. For young boys to see that making a child doesn't make them a man. To help both understand to respect each other. You are so right about the power of television. If we could just get these young men and women to value themselves.

Answer 9

Didn't want a child out of wedlock. The easiest thing to do is to not have sex.

I was a virgin bride at the age of 28

It is mind over matter! It is easy just say NO!!!

Answer 10

Make both guys and girls carry around a doll, and take care of it. But does that really work? It's worth a shot.