RATED RISKY - Talking about sex: Some parents ending the cycle of silence

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Sad results on their survey. I guess we can thank the entertainment industry (Movies, MTV, Music, Magazines, webzines) and the morals of a certain ex-president (the sinkmaster) for part of this.

How come when parents "didn't" talk to their children about sex the teen pregnancy rate was 1/10th what it is now?

Only when the schools and government decided it could teach our children about sex better than the parents, did a large number of children become parents. Connect the dots.

—More than 40 percent said friends were the biggest influence on their sexual behavior; only 15 percent said their parents' values were their greatest influence.

My wife and I personally consider teaching our kids about sex, in all its aspects (religious, moral, practical, health-wise, etc. etc.), is one of our primary duties as parents. To us, it's unbelievable that so many parents would turn over their kids to teachers (who may not even be heterosexual), to friends (my friends in school didn't know what they were talking about most of the time), to TV shows (just try watching Undressed on MTV) or to priests and ministers (in my Catholic Church, I don't even think it's SAFE for my sons to be around a Catholic priest). Parents love their kids, but don't have the courage to love them enough to give them the information they need. They are turning their kids over to those who have all sorts of mixed (and sometimes very destructive) messages about sex. It's a shame and a disaster. In our family, I've had five long talks about ALL aspects of sex with our two sons. My wife has had two - to talk to them about a woman's perspective on it. They know what we think (and also what our religion teaches) and why. Parents need to reclaim their parenthood.

There were enough parents who encouraged boy-girl relationships at the tender age of 10, 11 and 12,

I've seen this on TV too. 11 yr olds with boyfriends/girlfriends. It's not at all cute or funny, but very disturbing.

Only when the schools and government decided it could teach our children about sex better than the parents, did a large number of children become parents.

And the parents went along with it. They never protested.

I've seen this on TV too. 11 yr olds with boyfriends/girlfriends. It's not at all cute or funny, but very disturbing.

In our town, we see 9-10 yr. old girls with makeup, sexually suggestive clothes, and parents sending those girls on dates with boys. When the parents start sexualizing their kids at really young ages, they're hurting them. A lot of this, as you point out, is coming from TV and mass media.

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