What I think is that more parents need to be talking to their kids about this issue. We need to make sure our children know our views on sex and marriage.Too often we say nothing to our children and hope that somehow our morals will sink in by osmois. Or we hope that our child’s school is teaching them something along the same lines as our moral thinking. When the school teaches contrary to our morals we get angry.
The thing is we can’t leave it up to JUST the schools. We, the parents, the original teachers, have got to tell our children what we believe. And it can’t just be, “don’t do it until you are married”. We have to tell them why they should wait until they are married.
I don’t always agree with what’s said on these boards. Heck, I don’t always agree with what the Catholic Church says, but some of that is changing. What I have finally come to learn (thank-you CA members) is that sex is so special, your body is so special, why, why, WHY would you want to share it ouside of a love that God has blessed.
Now I know some of you will think of me as a hypocrite after saying that, but I’m not really. I’m just a realist.
My dd and I talk about anything and everything. I leave the lines of communication open. I want her to know that I am always here for her no matter what. We talk about sex. I’ve told her to wait until she’s married. I’ve told her how great married love is. I’ve also hinted at my mistakes. I don’t want to overshare, but she knows that I didn’t wait for marriage. She also knows that it has affected me in a negative way. I tell her this, so she understands WHY she should wait.
At the same time, I’ve talked to her about contraception.We’ve discussed the IUD being an abortifactant. We’ve talked about the pill altering your hormones. We’ve talked about how neither of these protect against STD’s. We’ve even discussed how a condom can break. I do tell her that I don’t want her having sex outside of marriage. I have also told her that if she does decide to she needs to always, ALWAYS insist on an STD test AND condoms.
People make mistakes. Even those raised in very moral homes can go astray. I’ve known good Catholic kids who went to Catholic schools and were raised in scrict, Catholic homes, who got pregnant. Mistakes don’t only happen to kids outside the faith, or in public school.
The best thing we can do for our kids is to make sure they know our morals and values. Just realise, as God does, that our kids were born with Free-will. They can and they will make mistakes. For me, making sure they are armed with as much knowledge as possible, gives me hope that they will make better choices than I did.
Kim
What was nice though was the complete silence when she spoke and the thunderous applause afterwards. The standing ovation was the longest seen by the school.