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576132 tn?1226972173

I know this is not the place for it, But if you don't mind I'd like to rant.

So, I discovered medhelp when I was looking for someone to answer a question I had about a possibility of me being pregnant. I posted a question asking if it was possible to be pregnant if I had only been eating 500 calories a day, and I felt like a COMPLETE idiot for asking, but I thought that it must be near impossible for a baby to grow in a body thats barely receiving enough nutrients for one, let alone two. But since I have been here it has become alarming to me how LITTLE teens know about pregnancy! Schools need to do something about the sexual education in public schools! Did you know that in my state for the past 2 years the only thing they are allowed to preach in schools is abstinence? They arent allowed to tell you about HOW you get pregnant and they can't tell you about ANY way to prevent it. which is why at my school 18% of the female population are either pregnant or have already had a child. Every other question I see here is titles  "could i be pregnant" and each and every one of them contains another teen telling about some outlandish and semi-sexual experience that they had and asking if they are pregnant. I wouldn't be surprised if tomorrow some one posts and asks if they can get pregnant if their boyfriend scratched his balls whilst talking to her over the phone! I don't mean to insult the general teen population, because its not their fault, but it does make me extremely angry at the school systems. Most teens don't want to ask their parents about sex, so all they know they learn from school. Something SERIOUSLY needs to be done! Am I the only one who thinks so???
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334776 tn?1249968581
hehe, :)

don't be bashfull!!!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Aww shucks, Jess. ;)
Helpful - 0
334776 tn?1249968581
please, on't feel out of place.....click on kstarrs name, and hit posts....you'll see one entitled "if it's not protected, it's not unexpected"....and we had alot to say.....but she nailed it all in her post.....(still commending kstarr's sense of responsibility and high maturity level *wink/smile*)
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545608 tn?1218127755
I also agree, and I believe that this is a world-wide problem, I'm form Colombia and here It's the same.. They do talk in schools about pregnancy and safe sex, but It's a really lame class It's almost the birds and the bees all over again, and they don't give out free condoms and just a low percentage of teenagers but them. They expect everyone to have safe sex but they don't give them the tools for that, and then all we hear is complains about the increase in teenage pregnancy..
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304970 tn?1331425994
I agree.

I rarely venture into this forum and when I do, I am each and every time floored at the lack of knowledge..
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184674 tn?1360860493
I agree. I was one of the fortunate ones to get a good health class during a semester I went to public high school (I was homeschooled and private schooled mostly), and learned everything I needed to know about the FACTS of male and female genetal anatomy, the menstrual cycle and ovulation, contraception, STDs, and pregnancy. We didn't learn anything ridiculous, like sexual techniques, and we didn't get condoms handed out to us (which I'm sure is the misconception of "sex ed" among many students and parents). We were just taught exactly what we NEEDED to know. That's one of the most life-applicable classes I've ever gotten in school--more than all the math, science, and history classes combined (which are needed as well to get a good education for a future, but sex ed is something that you need to know that applies to almost the rest of your everyday life).
I also agree that parents need to be involved and open to providing sex ed to their kids. My mom was never squeemish about telling me anything I needed to know if I asked. She was always willingly and unashamedly ready to tell me from the time I was a young age and started asking questions, and she was always matter-of-fact about it.
I remember her telling me one time when I was about 13 or so, that boys are going to start showing an interest in me, so be careful.
I thought, "Oh brother. Here we go with the 'all young boys are just out to get one thing' speech again." So I honestly asked, "WHAT do I need to be careful about? I know what sex is and what it involves. If I see that anticipated from a guy, then I'll just ignore him."
She saw that I was kinda annoyed, so she was like, "Okay, then tell me, what is sex and what does it involve?"
I didn't know what to say. I was 13, how was I supposed to know anything more about sex than it involving a man getting an erection and sticking it into a girl's vagina?
My mom explained to be careful, because it's a lot more than what I "knew" it to be. She explained fingering and oral sex to me (which made me queesey at the time), and what signs and behaviors to watch out for with guys I was with in my future.
Thing is, I DIDN'T want to know that stuff, but after I learned it from a person I trusted with my life and loved immensely, I was very grateful. Mainly because I encountered all of what she warned me about, and I knew how to handle it.
Kids may not want to hear this stuff from their parents of all people, and parents may think they're destroying their kids' innocence if they tell them this.
But kids, think of it this way: if you love and trust your parents, you know you can trust them enough to give you the information you need to protect yourself, and that is NOT shameful or embarassing. So hear them out. I could save your life.
And parents: your kids' innocence is going to be gone some day. Do you want them to be completely unprotected from lack of knowledge when it's gone, or would you rather know that you helped protect them by making them not-so-naive and innocent? Talk to them. It could save their lives, and make you a grandparents when you EXPECT to be grandparents rather than have to support your kids and grandkids together.
Helpful - 0
494669 tn?1275362475
i agree teens do need to know more about sex. they need to know EVERYTHING not just abstinence. i think alot of people would agree with you.
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Avatar universal
No, this really IS the place for this, I agree with you completely. Our schools here only have ONE health class throughout all 4 high school years and it's only one semester long... With all the other classes that students have to worry about their grades in, health becomes very low on the priority list. They only go over sex rather briefly.. In my class they showed a video about conception, explained the contraception devices and methods, explained and quizzed us on the various STD's and made sure to repeat "No sex is the safest way" Don't get me wrong, it is... But it doesn't mean that teens aren't going to have sex.. And not informing them thoroughly enough about prevention and safety is a failure on their part. I believe that condoms should be available to students without cost (how expensive can a piece of latex be to manufacture and produce?) and without question. More of them would use condoms I would bet. But for some reason they seem to think that if they offer it, they are advocating sex itself.. I do believe that the school systems should do much more to protect the students.. But I'm sure someone will make a comment on how the parents should be doing more as well. Which is also true. Parents of teens often seem to think along the lines of "Oh no, I have a good child, they know better. They wouldn't have sex. And they'd protect themselves if they were" And simply assume that they know everything they should, from school. It doesn't help that probably 98% of parents (around here anyway) are almost totally uninvolved in their children's personal and school life. Maybe if the parents and the school board were to get together and establish something better than what is offered, we could see a decline in teen pregnancies.
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