Guess what was the major topic of discussion in my girls group yesterday. How do explain to a bunch of 10 year old girls that one of their role models is having sex and then getting pregnant (doesn't anybody know about birth control these days?). Somebody needs to slap that girl upside the head and say "what were you thinking?" BTW, I started having sex when I was 16 and never had a baby that wasn't planned. NOT getting pregnant IS a possibility! It just makes me furious.
Kathy

Kathy, I hear you about the not getting pregnant. What bothers me most is her status among young girls. About my 14 yr. old daughter, she does not want to risk sex because she doesn't want babies. I let her go on thinking that no birth control is 100%. What has happened to our young people?
Happy Holidays Kathy.

Carla

Carla, great minds think alike. I knew that as a responsible young man with no money I was not about to create kids I had no way to support so I did not mess around at that age.

Poor mommy's book deal kind of fell apart with this latest fiasco.

Lance

There is no "safe-sex". If pregnancy doesn't occur, you are still left w/ an incredibly high probability of contracting an STD (sexually transmitted disease) Which in turn can lead to years of physical pain, as well as emotional, infertility or even death, there is a high mortality rate in women of cervical cancer which is also an std.

We don't give our young adults enough credit. Has not anyone ever heard of abstaining/abstinence until marriage? I believe this is the crux of the matter, saving sex for your spouse is no longer being even discussed let alone encouraged as an option to our teens. What was once a virtue, virginity is now considered old fashioned or even a dirty word. And just because "we did it" isn't a good excuse in this age of rampant STD's. I wish someone would have spoken up for me during my teen years, I wish someone would have supported my reproductive well being as safety and given me another option. I wish someone would have given me more credit as a young adult and not just assume "I'd do it anyways".

What is so impossible about bringing back virginity and no sex till marriage ideas? Don't we aspire our son's and daughters to achieve great goals in their lives? If we have such high aspirations in the areas of academics & sports, why is it so taboo to aspire for their sexual and reproductive well-being?

Let's keep our kids healthy, both in body as well as in spirit. It takes endurance and hard work and communication, but I know it is possible.

Just some thoughts...you can tell this issue is close to my heart, I've got 3 teens so this is an ongoing dialog for us.

Betty

Betty, you are absolutely right! Young people should have a menu of options, and number one is not doing it at all! But if they do, there are lots of ways to not have babies and not get STD's. With role models like Jamie Lyn and Brittany, it is up to us parents to get the message across. I have a 18 year old son, and believe me he hears about this often, as well as hearing about not doing drugs and not drinking (which sometimes leads to sex and babies). It's a scary world out there with lots of influences which are not in kid's best interests.
Kathy

It seems to me that many times it is the parents who encourage their children to view, like and emulate these role models. A bunch of stupid air-heads influencing our kids...

I know of a dear lady who is trying desperately to get my little girl to become a Hannah Montana fan, why? who knows, but every time I let my daughter visit w/ her and her grand-daughter, she plays music videos and all the talk in about HM. I don't get it, a grown woman. You know, in the back of your mind somewhere, they are setting that girl up for a big fall, another Hollywood statistic.

We unplugged our satellite 2 years ago. It was the best decision we've made. My kids don't know who the heck Jamie Lyn was and could care less.LOL, Maybe more of us should dump the TV? Buy movies instead. Or borrow them at the library like we do.

There will come a time when our kids will spread their wings and fly away from us, hopefully we would have equipped them with some healthy options so they can live their lives to the fullest. When all is said and done, they are the ones that will make the final choices.

Betty:)

Betty,Kathy, I feel like it's always been up to us and should be, us being parents. I don't want to depend on any teacher to teach my kids about sex and drugs. Heck, there was a teacher in the next county over from us arrested for selling drugs!!!
Do ya'll remember the friend of my daughter's who had sex at 14? She now has an STD. The only reason my daughter and I are aware of that girl's problems is because she tells them at school. What, is she bragging? OMG.
Kathy, I'm glad you pointed that out about cervical cancer, I did not know it was an STD. To quote someone, this are babies raising babies. Geez.

Carla

I remember when my cousin Darleen got pregnant while still in high school. Her father was furious and threw the girl out of the house. My grandfather had to call and fuss his son out before the man would take her back. When my mother asked my aunt Peggy why the girl didn't use "protection" (my mom's word for birth control) my aunt replied that "good girls don't use birth control". Mom rolled her eyes at the idiocy of that statement.

Thank heavens both my parents made sure my sister and I knew about birth control. I'm 41 now and I still remember that conversation with my dad when I was just 14.

"Son, don't ever trust a woman with birth control. Here are some rubbers. Wrap it up!"

Human nature is what it is. My father was born in 1938. He was a teenager during the 50s and was carrying on an affair with a married woman ten years his senior (I once heard that my grandmother almost shot the woman when she found out). My mother was considered a "good girl". Yeah, that good girl admitted to me once that she had slept with her first boyfriend before marrying my father.

Birth control works, you just got to use it. And nowadays there are a lot more options to women. My niece gets shots, which relieves her of having to remember to take a daily pill. Frankly, I applaud her good sense.

You know Im from South Louisiana and her sister has already made being a cajun woman a bad word! Now her sister goes and just adds fuel to the fire. Good God make all of us look like ....you know what it makes us look like!!
Angela

Carla its the HPV (human paplo virus) that is passed from male carriers that can cause Cervical cancer. That is what the new Guardisal drug is to help prevent most strains from infecting females from to lower the chance for CC.

All parents also need to stress to your young male relatives that states have laws on underage sex and depending on their ages or the state they could be charged with rape if the girls parent finds out and chooses to press charges, even if it was consensual. With a pregnancy it becomes obvious and many times that is when charges are pressed by the state depending on the age of the female in question. A rape charge makes you a sexual predator for life and requires that you register your whereabouts. Not fun.
I guess we can blame the media and certain music genres for pushing this on the young, but parents have to make sure kids have the how/why/alternatives information and make sure that their kids have a high self esteem to avoid being pressured into a situation they don't want or need.

Ditto orchids2000!

Human Papilloma virus types 16, 18 = cervical cancer.

Also, regarding the anti HPV drug Gardacil:

Oct 4, 2007 Contact: Press Office
202-646-5188

Judicial Watch Uncovers New FDA Records Detailing Deaths in 1,824 Adverse Reaction Reports Related to HPV Vaccine

Judicial Watch Sues FDA for Producing "Partial Response" to FOIA Request

(Washington, DC) -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released new documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, detailing 1,824 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil, including as many as eight deaths related to the vaccine. Judicial Watch had previously obtained 1,637 reports relating to Gardasil on May 15, 2007, bringing the known total to 3,461 adverse reactions including eleven deaths since FDA approval. Among the new information uncovered by Judicial Watch:

"20-Jun-2007: Information has been receivedconcerning a 17 year old female who in June 2007was vaccinated with a first dose of GardasilDuring the evening of the same day, the patient was found unconscious (lifeless) by the mother. Resuscitation was performed by the emergency physician but was unsuccessful. The patient subsequently died."

"12-Jun-2007: Information has been receivedconcerning a 12 year old female with a history of aortic and mitral valve insufficiencywho on 01-MAR-2007 was vaccinated IM into the left arm with a first does of GardasilOn 01-MAR-2007 the patient presented to the ED with ventricular tachycardia and died."

28-Aug-2007: Initial and follow-up information has been received from a physician concerning an "otherwise healthy" 13 year old female who was vaccinated with her first and second doses of Gardasil. Subsequently, the patient experiencedparalysis from the chest down, lesions of the optic nerveAt the time of the report, the patient had not recovered."

From May 10 to September 7, 2007, the 1,824 adverse vaccination reactions reported to the FDA via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) included 347 serious reactions. Of the 77 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 33 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities. Other serious side effects continue to be reported including, paralysis, Bells Palsy, Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and seizures.

"In light of this information, it is disturbing that state and local governments might mandate in any way this vaccine for young girls," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "These adverse reaction reports suggest the vaccine not only causes serious side effects, but might even be fatal."

Judicial Watch filed its request on August 20, 2007, and received the adverse event reports from the FDA on September, 13 2007. (On October 3, 2007, Judicial Watch filed a new lawsuit against the FDA for its failure to fully respond to Judicial Watchs FOIA request as required by law.)

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Gardasil Related Deaths Reported to VAERS as of Sept. 7, 2007
Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) Serious Reaction Reports as of Sept. 7, 2007
VAERS Reports as of Sept. 7, 2007
Judicial Watch complaint against the FDA
Click here to learn more about Judicial Watch's investigation

Betty

MONKEY SEE - MONKEY DO