COMMENTARY | According to the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, school districts with sex education programs may have lower teen pregnancy rates. The recent study reports that not all sex education models are created equal, however. Those programs that teach about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases may be more effective than their abstinence-only counterparts. The relationship between the sex education curriculum and teen pregnancy rates disappears when demographic characteristics and religion, for instance, are factored in.
As a mother of three, I'm not surprised to hear that there's more to the issue of teen pregnancy than the education our local school system provides. By the time my children entered kindergarten, I'd already laid the groundwork for much of their future educational success. I'd be foolish to expect that the school district could teach my children the morality of sexual education without my own input.
My local school district begins teaching their abstinence-based curriculum in middle school. For some children, that's already too late. The hope is that parents have already addressed the concept of sexual activity with their children in the home long before it's presented in the classroom.
Planned Parenthood reports that teens often cite their parents as their biggest influence when making decisions about sex. It makes sense to this mother, then, that any school-based sex ed curriculum that isn't a follow-up to a conversation with mom or dad isn't going to be as effective. Parents who don't initiate conversations about sex and sexuality with their children may find that sexual education in the classroom, no matter the form it takes, is a case of too little, too late.
Don't count on your spiritual life to be the soul determinant in your teenager's sex life either. When religion was factored into the study, the relationship between a comprehensive sex education program and a reduction in teen pregnancy rates wasn't apparent. Don't just assume that because your child attends services and youth programs at your church that they'll abstain until marriage. They might -- but it's a big leap of faith for this parent to make.
Parents who hope to reduce their teen's risk of pregnancy should heed the bottom line of the study. Don't count on any sexual education curriculum to take the place of our job when it matters most.
Kelly Herdrich has a bachelor's degree in elementary education. She has written extensively on parenting, education, and women's health issues. She's the mother of three daughters.
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