Teens today don’t value sex the way generations earlier did.  To assume your teen will wait for marriage is a nice thought — and maybe they will, but statistically speaking, the odds are not with them.

Either way, they need to be educated for safe safe sex.  Years ago the biggest fear was getting pregnant.  Today the risks are more dangerous when we know about STD’s.

Every day, more than 2,000 teen girls in the United States get pregnant. In fact, 3 in 10 girls will become pregnant by age 20. Not having sex is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy, though there are a lot of other good reasons to wait, too. But if you’re having sex, you must use birth control carefully and correctly every single time you do.  – According to Power to Decide.

One common question is why?  Why have sex at a young age or before you are ready?

Here are some of answers from Power to Decide:

• I’m curious – I want to experiment/ get experience.
• I just want to get this first time out of the way.
• Sex is no big deal. Everyone is doing it.
• Every one of my friends has had sex – I’m the only hold out. I feel like a wierdo.
• The popular kids in my school are the ones who have sex – I want to fit in with them.
• My partner really wants me to do it – he/ she says that it’ll bring us closer together/ prove my love/ show my commitment.
• There’s nothing to do in this town but have sex.
• I won’t really know how compatible we are until we’ve had sex.
• My parents are so controlling and strict – they’d freak out if they knew I was having sex.
• We’ve already had sex once – I can’t very well say no now.
• It’s just a “friends-with-benefits” thing – what’s the big deal?

Teens and sex is an important subject that has more resources and information now more than ever before.  Educating parents, teachers and teenagers is a commitment everyone needs to have.  Power to Decide is one of several valuable websites that offers a vast amount of information about having sex and/or considering having sex.

Read: 5 Benefits of Boarding Schools for Troubled Teens.

Read: Why Therapeutic Boarding Schools Are Effective.

###

If your teen is being promiscuous and not respecting their body, get help for them immediately.  If they refuse or it doesn’t seem to be helping, you may want to consider residential therapy to determine what is causing them to act out this way.  Contact us for more information.