This morning, a friend was discussing how angry she was when she discovered her 13 year-old son had already at sex. Not only was she angry, she was quite unprepared to discuss sexual health with her young son.
The American Medical Association (AMA) reported that "a 2010 article in Pediatrics noted that more than 40 percent of children have sexual intercourse before talking with their parents about issues as important as condom use, choice of birth control and symptoms of sexually transmitted illnesses."
Needless to say, I was not shocked until I reflected on my childhood. What was I doing at 13 years old? At that age, I was clueless about sex. I didn’t know whether to wind my butt or scratch my watch at 13 years old.
I was a late bloomer and my parents would rather eat a glass sandwich than talk to me about sexual health. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation 85 percent of parents surveyed thought they talked with their teens about sex "often or very often." The foundation also stated that 58 percent of teens in the survey said they talked with parents about sex "never or not often."
Unfortunately, my sex education was derived from conversations with my teenage girlfriends. And I received some misinformation. One myth I was told when I was in my preteens was "if you have sex on a full moon, you’d have a baby." Even today, you will find oodles of misinformation about sex health on the Internet.
Here are some common myths about sexual health:
• You can only have an orgasm through vaginal sex
• You can re-use a condom
• You can use plastic wrap as a condom or dental dam
• You can get herpes from a toilet seat
• A Pap smear tests for sexually transmitted diseases
• You can become infected with HIV through a mosquito bite
• It is not safe to have sex when you have a headache
• Cold sores are not contagious
• You cannot be allergic to sex
• The condom is the most effective type of birth control
Also, it is very important that we talk to our children about sexual health. According to the AMA, "Preteens whose parents communicate openly about sex are more likely to ask parents for help with other tough issues."
If you are unsure how to talk to your children about sex, you can contact your pediatrician. Here are two sources which offer information about how to discuss sex with your kids as well.
• Children Now http://www.childrennow.org/index.php/learn/talking_with_kids
• Parents Matter
http://www.cdcnpin.org/parentsmatter
References:
53 Surprising Facts About Your Sexual Health | Nursing Schools: LPN RN BSN MSN: Online Nursing Degree. Nursing Schools: LPN RN BSN MSN: Online Nursing Degree. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from
http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/11/53-surprising-facts-about-your-sexual-health/.
Sexual Health Myths and Facts. American Social Health Association. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from
http://www.ashastd.org/sexualhealth/myths_facts.cfm.
Amednews: Sex education discussions should start early and continue for young patients: Dec. 5, 2011. American Medical News. American Medical Association - Physicians, Medical Students & Patients (AMA). Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/12/05/prca1205.htm.
Reviewed December 5, 2011
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith