Sex facts and sex education on unprotected sex for teens
As a parent, your role does not come to a stop when your child becomes an adult. It is important to brace your children for all the unexpected twists and turns life can bring.
Yesterday was World Contraception Day and we saw studies revealing an alarming figure that 8 out of 10 young adults in Singapore that have engaged in unprotected sex with a new partner.
When surveyed about why they are engaging in this activity, the reasons were very worrying. Many said their partner’s preferred not using any form of protection. Some said condoms are too expensive to buy and others had ridiculous ideas about ways they could prevent themselves from pregnancy and STD’s.
Silly misconceptions
Some teenagers believe that washing their private parts with Coca-Cola will prevent them from getting pregnant. Others believe staying upside down for two hours will just be effective and some believe having sex in the shower is safe.
While these reasons might come across as far-fetched, both you and your child could believe certain myths that seem true, but could result in serious consequences.
Vital information
If you have teenagers, make sure you tell your kids about these now:
1. Engaging in intercourse during a woman’s menstrual cycle can lead to pregnancy.
2. Pregnancy can occur even if the man pulls out before ejaculating.
3. Using a condom during intercourse can still lead to pregnancy.
4. Oral contraception does not prevent you from STI’s (Sexually Transmitted Infections), and STD’s.
5. Pregnancy can still occur even if you have not had sex with a partner, but engage in petting.
It might be embarrassing to talk to your kids about sex, but making sure you get the message across to them could save them so much physical and emotional damage. Many kids think they can just get an abortion, or they won’t pick up an STD. They are unaware of how dangerous unprotected sex can be.
How to tell them
If you know your child is or could be having sex, encourage them to use contraception instead of lecturing them about not having it at all, because chances they won’t listen to you. Making sure they do know the consequences that they could face is important. Give them enough money to allow them to purchase contraception.
Juliana Nah, who has a twelve year old daughter and has talked to her about sex openly says “I want her to discuss things with me and not be scared to ask me anything. If there is a need to google things, I want her to discuss her findings with me, her grandmother or aunts”. If they are not comfortable talking with you about it, try and encourage a younger family member to get the message across. If you need more tips on how to talk to your kids, click here. There are numerous pregnancy and STI cases that occur every year but are kept hushed to protect the child from humiliation. Make sure your child doesn’t have to go through what many already have.
Source: The New Paper – Rinse with soft drink to stop pregnancy? ; The Straits Times – Many young people still having unprotected sex.
For more information on sex and sex education, see:
Hey kids, let’s talk about sex
Should Singapore change our age of sexual consent?