In our first class meeting, Northeast District Health Director Dr. Claude Burnett stressed that combating teen pregnancy was crucial in the battle to end the cycle of poverty in this area. This thought has resonated with me for more than a month, and over the next few weeks, I will discuss the impact of teenage pregnancy, relaying some personal anecdotes along the way.
Last spring, I wrote a series of pieces for the Barrow County News examining the issue of teenage pregnancy. Through the series, I noticed an interesting paradox: parents realize the importance of sex education and providing birth control to sexually active teens but don't want to give them "mixed messages" by encouraging abstinence while providing condoms. This observation seemed to be supported by the random telephone survey conducted by the Northeast Health District, which said that while 71 percent of Georgians supported providing condoms to sexually active teens, only 31 percent of Georgians felt that their community would support such an initiative.
In addition, I noticed that parents continue to rely on the school system and on occasion the church to deliver sexual education to their kids. My interviews of area residents supported my own personal experience. Throughout my childhood and adolescence, sex was a taboo topic in my household. I can only remember one "sex" talk from my mom, and it centered only on menstruation. Unfortunately, I was a shy child and didn't inquire a lot about it; thus, I gained much of my knowledge about sex from the media (scary, I know).
Based on my personal experience, as well as anecdotes gained as a reporter, I believe that this lack of parent/child interaction about sex is pretty common in this region. I think it has something to do with cultural norms that still linger ("sex talk"=taboo topic). Parents are just plain scared and uncomfortable with talking to their kids about sex. At an early age, we're taught to use inappropriate lingo for our sexual anatomy and, in some cases, that sex is bad. Children can sense when a parent is uncomfortable, and some kids will avoid asking inherent questions about sex because of it, choosing instead to find the answers through other means (i.e., school, church, the media, peers, etc.).
By avoiding or sidestepping conversations about sex (or even worse providing misinformation such as the "stork story"), parents are contributing to the cycle of teenage pregnancy and perhaps to the greater cycle of poverty within this region. My advice: parents need to get over it. They need to realize that talking to kids about sex is no different than talking to kids about drugs or smoking. Giving kids answers allows them to make informed decisions in their life. That said, I was pleased to see that there's a growing body of children's literature devoted to helping kids and parents talk about sex.
However, these books are only helpful if parents use them. Parents need to realize that they are the first step to breaking the cycle of teen pregnancy. In my next blog, I will consider how teenage pregnancy contributes to the cycle of poverty.
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3 comments:
Thanks for the link to children's literature about sex education. The questions have started early in my little family! I think this is definately one of the areas where education makes a difference.
I agree. On my second ride-along, my officer was called to assist another one in looking for a young teenage girl. We found her in her neighborhood walking around in the dark coming from who knows where. She lives in a poor mostly Hispanic community. The officer we met on site was able to finally get her to talk some which was difficult because she was clearly upset about something and not getting along with her mother.
We found out that she's pregnant and she's thirteen.
I serve on the board here in Georgia that distributes Title V abstinence education funds--which this particular Congress is not real excited about. In fact, our money is going away and those who promote "comprehensive" sex education will have access to all the federal money.
I constantly hear people say that it is inevitable that kids will have sex before marriage. It is as if we are giving up on the value of teaching honor, fidelity, and purity. I married as a virgin, and so did my wife. We now have 7 children, and work with thousands of young people across the country who are aspiring to the same values.
Children are not animals. They can be taught self control. It is time we start treating them with respect.
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