Sex Ed
When I was a child, I was more sexually advanced than my peers. With late night access to HBO/Cinemax, the exposure of pornography and sex fed my curiosity. At 12-yeard old, the only things my friends and I talked about was girls and sex. By the time I was 15-years old, I was a father.
The authority in my life–who were mostly women–didn’t really have much to say to me about my inappropriate actions. I guess they didn’t know what to say. “If you get a girl pregnant, the money I care of you with is going to that baby,” was what my mother repeated. Other than that, my sex life began way too early with no sense of responsibility.
That was, of course, 21 years ago. As open and lenient our society is now, sex seems to be a part of this generation’s culture. Especially with the heavy presence of porn and social media. There are more teens being exposed to sex than my generation. It’s a hot mess!
Whether you believe you may or may not be able to prevent your teenager from being sexually active, I think it’ll be wise to talk to him/her on how to practice safe sex and make better, responsible decisions than the 15-year old me.
To be clear, I am not suggesting that you allow a teenager to have sex. I just strongly believe that a few conversations on the matter would help. Don’t wait!