Easley's Pregnancy Prevention Month - May

So, my son comes home from school today with a permission slip to attend this session, where teen mothers will speak about the realities and difficulties of teen parenting. The message is abstinence, at least they will not be passing out condoms.

I have mixed feelings. My son is in the 7th grade in Middle School, and still plays with plastic army men. I don't really *want* this to be part of his reality right now - ya know? I want him to enjoy being a kid.

Why is this geared towards Middle School kids? The number for teen pregnancies in NC for kids 10-14 was below 450 a year. That is not a big number. Of course the literature that came home, gave numbers for teens aged 10-19 which was 18thousand something.

I don't know how I feel about this. They discussed the biology in Science, I discuss my expectations/values at home... Does he really need to see teen parents at his Middle School? Anybody else have their kids go to this, or have it come up this year?

 

Well just thinking of Easley should itself prevent a lot of births.

 

Cleo,
I can appreciate your thoughts and how he's still at the "army men" stage. The change from disinterest to obsession in the opposite sex can happen in a NY minute. And, in this area, I think that the more they head and see from someone in their own (or nearly own) peer group can't hurt. The media coverage on the Spears kid have reverberated..and the # of girls who think it's neat would stagger you. I can't imagine that many boys would turn down the opportunity with no regard to the sequelae. And, although you may see him as being in a young stage, as a teenage boy, most certainly the thoughts and curiosities are running through his head.
Good Luck..

 

I know, I know... I DO knock before entering his room at night now. lol

 

Cleo I think that if more kids KNEW or SAW how difficult it was and how it puts a strain on them and or their family, they'd think twice and wear a rubber - or just don't screw at all.

 

And it couldn't have come at a better time with Hollywood and the likes glamorizing it for our kids. Sometimes I just wish I could go off the grid and raise my kids without all of this "input", ya know?

 

Not to make a large case about this, but, for my money, I think they should also talk about contraception and STD prevention. Seems far too important and related to leave unschooled.

 

I agree w/ Cleo. My daughter brought it home and is also in 7th grade. I checked NO. I think Middle School is not hte proper place. High School...yes. Middle School....no. Some will say it's hard but then some of the middle schoolers will say, "yeh, it's hard but she did it(meaning raising a child)". They will miss the whole point of the lecture. They will see money does come in, they can cloth the child and all w/out a job. MOstly, it will be the parents providing for the teens.

I have very mixed feelings about this. My child will not attend. However, she has taken other sex-ed classes regarding puberty and things of that nature. Just a teen mother panel on pregnancy in middle school is just not right. AND, Hatteras has a point...teach it ALL. Abstinance, STD's, pregnancy prevention, etc. B/c we all know no matter what you tell them/lecture them to do, it does NOT always happen and they need to be prepared.

Good luck to other parents deciding what to do on this one.

Stephanie-- mom to 7

 

:lol::lol:

 

kids teaching kids... something about that doesn't seem square. :neutral:

 

I saw this program all 4 years I taught in middle school. It's very well done.

The girls (and teen fathers if they can get one to come) do not go into specifics about sexual activity. They do reveal the difficulties they have with money, time, school work, etc. while trying to be a good parent. They talk about how much babies can cry, cost, etc.

The point is to take away the thought that "it just won't happen to me" or that "babies are so cute, I'd love one" and the "real men are fathers" mentality that exists with Hollywood celebrities and musicians today. The girls do not discuss their sexual history, and students are not allowed to ask about that. It is moderated by a counselor who works with the teen parents in our schools.

I will have no problem signing the permission slip for my son next year. (He also enjoys playing with his robots and remote control cars, etc. still, too.)

 

Koo,

All...thanks for clueing me in. Seems like a good start to a long term process.

Koo....

I don't think that it's as simple as that. I don't envision that the adults put the kids in a room, and leave the teens to talk to the Middle schoolers. It seems to me, without having seen the curriculum or the presentation, that they teens would be more utilized as the "example" of the consequence for the sexual choices that they made. I see it as more of a educator facilitated, teen parent supported process.

Abs,
Thanks for the chime in. However, I question the wisdom of waiting until High School. I thought about it as a preteen and a teenager..AND that was back in the day. I don't imagine that things have slowed down. Moreso, with the constant media bombardment, the lack of teen role models, and the availability..let's call it motive meeting opportunity...it comes across to me that the issues need addressing at earliest opportunity.
For the kids, this education from both values and biological facts needs to be a continuing process, not a one time program.
H6

 

Abdulina, I have taught sixth and seventh grade girls who were pregnant. I had a student who had 2 abortions before she was 12. The boys were seventh and eighth graders. The saddest case was the 11 year-old whose baby was in foster care and she, literally, went crazy after the birth and ended up spending several years in a psychiatric hospital. The pregnancy hormones and stress of labor were part of the reasons for her breakdown.

When I returned one year from maternity leave, an 11 year-old girl asked me if it hurt when I went "ugh, ugh, ugh" and had the baby. After I told her I was in labor for 18 hours and it hurt a whole lot more than that, she confessed that she was going to tell her boyfriend no after all. She didn't feel like being in pain to have a baby.

As long as parents allow their children to "grow up" too fast with the sexually explicit clothing, songs, movies, etc., boys and girls will experiment with sex at younger and younger ages. Although many of us, myself included, have children who do not "need" the message, I think it's a better idea to begin planting the seed for abstinence instead of waiting until my son is looking at condoms or my daughter is trying to get on the pill.

 

My 2p (even though I don't have a dog in this fight)...
If your kid has gone through (or is or about to go through) puberty, you should give them all the opportunities you can to teach them about the risks of teen sex. Please don't be one of those parents who think their child is a little angel. You might be right, but the history of childhoods says you probably aren't. As Ronald Reagan said, "Trust but verify."

 

The letter stated that parents were welcome to join their child and attend the session. So I guess if did not like the tone or path of the session you could take you child and leave. Just an option if you are having mixed thoughts,

 

It must be only for 7th graders, my kid didn't get one.

However, she has seen first hand how a baby can change your life (with the birth of my second) and I could be wrong, but I don't think she'll be having sex anytime soon.

I would let her attend, but I'd probably go too.

 

They're not teaching, they're sharing their experince of having a baby before they were adults/prepared.....kinda like peer pressure in a good way. Usually kids will listen to other kids more than their parents (sometimes), because you know that 'parents' don't know nothing...:mrgreen: I think its a good program. It would be interesting to follow-up (in HS) to see if it makes a difference in their decisions about having sex.

 

My oldest daughter attended last year. She came home and said well I'm never having a baby...LOL.

I think it's a great idea to have this in middle school. My daughter is very open with me and we discuss many things going on in her life and the lives of people she attends school with. You would be SURPISED at all the middle schoolers who are experimenting with Sex, Drugs and Alcohol, it's really astonishing.

 

Yep, even if they're NOT doing any of that stuff, they hear about it and know the ones that are.

 

So true. Just the other day, she was talking about some boys in her class that came to school after smoking weed....

They see and hear a lot more than you know.