Teaching your kids about sex: wait until you're mature enough? or wait until you're married?

Question

Which are you teaching your kids?

How do you feel about this public service announcement that your U.S. tax dollars paid for? http://www.4parents.gov/

Answer 1

I'm telling my kids "mature enough" and I'm also adding "to handle a baby or a life threatening disease". I'm trying to brainwash them that they shouldn't marry until 30 or close to it. I can't expect that they won't have pre-marital sex if they wait that long. Knowledge is power. I want my kids to know everything they can.

I don't want my tax dollars paying for anything that has to do with sex. It's a parenting issue, not a government one.

Ron Paul 08!

Answer 2

realistically, telling them to wait until marriage is pretty much doomed to fail; the statistics are that something like 95% of people have sex before marriage (interestingly, this number hasn't changed dramatically from the 1940s!)http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2006/12/19/index.html

so i'd aim for something more achievable. "mature enough" is probably insufficient guidance ... probably loads of 15 year olds think they're tremendously mature. i'd say at least college age, and then only with the right guy, when they feel ready, and with birth control and protection against stds. (i'm not an ostrich ... i'm all in favor of my kids knowing about birth control and having access to it even earlier, just in case my teaching doesn't work out ... i'm not going to risk anybody's life on my kids' not making a mistake. but that won't change my strong advice to wait until they're older.)

Answer 3

The latest report shows that abstinence is having a zero impact on teen sex, which is understandable.

I think it's hypocritical for adults who can have sex all they want whenever they want, but who no longer have the drive, to tell teens at the peak of their sexuality that they can't. It's like handing mom a new credit card but telling her to avoid the stores until after the sales are over.

Their bodies are made for sex, for making babies. It's a built-in biological/reproductive imperative, even if they're gay. The best approach is to arm them with all the facts you can and pray for a good outcome.

Answer 4

I think that type of conversation could be the right fit for some parents but it wasn't for us. I have already had "the talk" with my son 3 times. I am very open and honest with him. I just always felt that if I was open and honest with him hopefully he will do the same with me. He has came to me and asked several questions and I have answered each one truthfully. He has also went to others with these questions and always got the "we'll talk about when you are older" line. I do NOT tell him to wait until marriage! But I have told him there are cosequences to having sex even if you think you are being safe. The part of the commercial I did like though was the fact that they were saying kids need to be talked to early and often.

Answer 5

I will teach my children about sex at an early age because it is better for me to teach them than for someone else to. I will teach that that it is preferable for them to wait til marriage but I am not naive. I know what the statistics say. I would not say until you are mature enough because level of maturity is measured differently by all people. I would tell them that it is ideal to wait til marriage and that they would never regret making that decision but I will explain to them that I know about hormones, urges, and body changes and I would always encourage them to talk to me when they THINK they are ready

Answer 6

My husband and I are into teaching our children morals. I know that I'll be in the minority, but to me, it's important for my kids to be raised knowing that sex is something for marriage, not something to just "play around with" with just anyone.

Unfortunately there are too many kids having sex nowadays as if though it's "something to do". Sad situation.

Answer 7

i would and will say i would prefer you wait till marriage but if not you need to wait till you are mature and atleast out of highschool

Answer 8

You can only do this according to your family's and faith's values and morals. Hopefully you have been doing this since your children were small.

Answer 9

You know, if everyone waited until they were married and then slept with only their spouse, there would be no stds. I want to tell my girls that they really should wait. We're Christian, and I want them to understand what God wants them to do. But, I also want them to understand that if they decide they don't want to wait, that they have to be responsible. That they understand that no matter how careful they are, they can still get pregnant.

Answer 10

wait until they're married.