Thought this was an interesting article for parents who are nervous about talking to their teens about "the birds & the bees"...
Parents must warn teens about dangers of STDs: Parents must warn teens about dangers of STDs - Kingsport Times-News Online
In a society constantly bombarded with sexual imagery, it comes as no surprise that rates of sexually transmitted diseases are skyrocketing, especially among the nation’s young people. According to a new Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study, teens have more cases of sexually transmitted disease than any other age group.
Nearly 42 percent of girls and 43 percent of boys between the ages of 15 and 19 reported having had sex. Among sexually active teenagers, 58 percent of boys and 56 percent of girls who began having sex at 15 or younger reported having had sex with four partners or more, greatly increasing their risk of contracting an STD.
Figures compiled by the CDC show that at least one in four teenage girls now has a sexually transmitted disease — more than three million teens. A virus that causes cervical cancer is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in girls aged 14 to 19.
These national findings are shocking enough, but other recent reports show Tennessee is scarcely immune to this phenomenon. The 2009 Tennessee Women’s Health Report Card, which looked at health profiles of more than three million women, gave the state an “F” for infections after they found chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis all on the rise. Tennessee has the dubious honor of ranking in the top 10 for the most cases of all three of these STDs.
A Tennessee comptroller’s report in 2007 also showed that Tennessee teens were more likely to have an STD than the national average. According to that report, compared to the national average of 47 percent, 55 percent of Tennessee children engaged in sexual activity, and 69 percent of high school students reported having had sex by the time they reached their senior year.
The report revealed that Tennessee children reported having sex at younger and younger ages. Twelve percent of ninth-graders had sex for the first time before the age of 13. Almost one in five senior girls reported being physically forced to have sex. Roughly 40 percent of sexually active Tennessee children failed to use a condom when they had sex.
Changing the sex-drenched culture that contributes so heavily to the pressure on adolescents to engage in sexual activity isn’t very likely, but that doesn’t mean parents are powerless. If they approach the topic of sex in a calm, straightforward way (easy to say, not so easy to do), they can be a positive and significant influence in the choices their children make in this regard.
In helping protect adolescents from the ravages of STDs, the first and most important step parents must take is in admitting that the risk is real and that silence or wishful thinking isn’t a viable substitute for a candid discussion about the responsibilities and perils of sexual intimacy.
06-16-2010, 02:01 PM
Parents must warn teens about dangers of STDs
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