Talking About Sex With Openness and Love

Way back when, people didn’t like to talk about out the facts of life. You know, sex. It’s a pretty important thing to know about, yet no one was willing to even sit down and be honest about it. They danced around it with talk about the “birds and the bees”. The menstrual cycle was made to sound like some unspeakable horror show, even though it’s the most natural thing in the world. It was all treated as something that had to be hidden away. Some adults even made it sound as though a boy just had to breath on a girl to make her pregnant. Then they’d have to get payday loans to pay for an abortion, and their lives would be ruined forever. Crazy stuff. It was a funny way to deal with one of most important aspects of our lives and relationships, but that’s how it all went.

Today the topic still brings feelings of embarrassment and self-consciousness to many adults, but at least there is a general social agreement that it’s okay to discuss sex openly. Avoiding an honest conversation with your son or daughter is not a winning strategy. They are hearing about sex from their friends, from the media, and from other adults. It’s important that you are part of the conversation.

Stay relaxed when you talk to your child about the big issues relating to sex. You’ll convey your message more easily and let them know by your attitude that sex is completely natural. Let them know about reproduction in a way that’s understandable for their age. Think through your own attitudes about the larger issues — birth control, sexually transmitted diseases, and teen pregnancy – so you can discuss them from a place that is comfortable for you.

Most importantly, know that speaking honestly with your child about sex is a loving and responsible act.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: General, Sexual Health, Sexual Life Tagged With: , , ,

Sexual Health for Adults

Though most sexual health emphasis is placed on young children who need the services of Planned Parenthood, there are issues that concern adults, too. Adults have issues that would elude young adults, and that would positively disturb them! For example, did you know that a male adult who has been exposed to BPAs during his life will often face sexual impairment and require a medication like Cyalis in order to function normally? This is something that particularly affects adults, and the adult consciousness of choices and effects, but it is related to sexual health.

When did sexual health, a heady, grown-up issue, become an issue that mostly concerned young people? The sexual revolution allowed younger people to be aware of themselves and their culture, politics of that age and sexual discrimination. Since then, it seems, all matters concerning sex have been targeted at younger, and younger audiences each decade. Online marketers are focusing on young people for campaigns, and creating products made for young adults. It’s easy to forget that adult sexual health is an issue of vital importance, too.

SexualHealth.com is a site for adults (and yes, young people) to learn about important issues, and discuss them in private forums. SexualHealth.com believes that everyone has the right to access educational information, to an accurate sex education, to privacy, and also to freedom of choice. Sexual Health wants individuals to be free from outside influences when determining orientation, and to learn to respect the rights of all others. Making decisions that are carefully thought-out and planned is an important aspect of being a conscious person. For your sexual health, you must always make choices that you can be proud of, and live with for the rest of your life. No one should ever be coerced into choices about sexuality, sexual health, or parenthood, according to SexualHealth.com.

Filed Under: Sexual Health, Sexual Life Tagged With: , ,

Tools for Parents

For many parents, the discussion of contraception, pregnancy, disease, or other topics related to sex can be an uncomfortable one. Many parents end up simply turning a blind eye to the behaviors of their children, just to avoid talking about it. However, the first step to safe sex and the health of children must be taken in the home. Children and teenagers should be taught that there will be consequences to their actions of having unsafe sex, especially if it is with multiple partners. Planned Parenthood clinics and their website have many tools available for parents to aid them in having this difficult conversation. A free, step-by-step tutorial is available online for parents emphasizing the best way to start the discussion, what specific points are the most necessary to emphasize, and when is the best time for children to learn this information. For example, the tutorial explains ways to lead into the topic, such as watching a favorite television program where a character begins puberty, or pointing a friend or family member who is pregnant and discussing how it happens. The website also features books and magazine articles, written by child psychologists and sex experts, that can be used by parents to best explain these important matters in frank and serious ways.

Planned Parenthood clinics also have counselors available to parents to help them through the conversations with their children. Additionally, some clinics offer group classes which parents and children can attend together to have questions answered in a comfortable and non-threatening setting. Without this crucial knowledge, children and teenagers may not ever learn the potential implications of having unprotected sex. Even parents who try to simply teach abstinence only may be surprised to find that their children are still engaging in unprotected sex. All parents should emphasize that unwanted pregnancy and many diseases can result from sex, and should offer the tools necessary to prevent their children from being unsafe

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Contraception, Parenthood, Pregnancy Tagged With: , , ,

Planned Parenthood and Sex Education

As the President of the United States changes, many changes also occur with public education programs and government funding. When George W. Bush was president, he instated a public education health program that discussed abstinence only, instead of informing high school students of the risks involved with having unprotected sex. Instead of teaching about forms of contraception available, how to avoid unwanted pregnancy, and the necessary steps to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases, the teachers were forced to promote abstinence only. This is simply unrealistic, and Planned Parenthood, along with many other health organizations, took a stand against this policy.

Planned Parenthood Federation of America helped to develop a more realistic approach to sex education, performing surveys in schools across the country and compiling documents designed to inform and educate high school students about how to protect themselves when engaging in sexual activity. In the surveys, it was determined that teaching abstinence-only sex education does not decrease the number of people who are having sex; instead it just allows uninformed individuals to engage in sexual activity that can lead to sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancy. Neither program actually decreases the number of students who are engaging in sexual activity. Instead, when students are taught the risks involved in having sex, they are more likely to use protection and take precautions against unwanted risks, such as disease or pregnancy, since they are more aware and understand what could happen if they have unprotected sex. Planned Parenthood clinics also offer comprehensive sex education to individuals, since they may not be getting the necessary information anywhere else. Teaching sex education in schools is crucial to prevent the continued spread of sexually transmitted disease, and is an issue that Planned Parenthood will continue to fight until comprehensive sex education is taught in schools throughout America.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Parenthood, Pregnancy, Sexual Problem Tagged With: , ,

Planned Parenthood’s Legal Issues Today

Since the creation of Planned Parenthood in 1916, they have dealt with legal problems due to progressive and innovative care and services offered to women. The clinics remain some of the few locations where women can have an elective abortion, and they also provide birth control and permanent sterilization procedures. In 1973 Roe v. Wade, a historic court case, overturned previous legislation about a woman’s right to abortion. Abortion was previously outlawed, but the judge on the case recognized that it was a woman’s constitutional right to have an abortion and keep this choice private. Three years later, Planned Parenthood helped to fight for a woman’s right to choose without spousal or parental consent to women over 16 years old. Planned Parenthood has continued to fight for this right throughout the years, and has won in several court cases to keep this right for women to choose.

Additionally, the clinics provide sexual education to people who may not be receiving it in school. Since the Bush administration, abstinence-only sex education is all that is provided in many high schools, which simply does not provide information to teenagers who currently are engaging in, or plan to engage in sexual activity. Without being taught about the risks and dangers of unprotected sex, the number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies will skyrocket. Teens simply must have access to this vital information. Planned Parenthood clinics offer contraception, counseling, and testing to patients of all ages, so for sexually active teens, a visit to a Planned Parenthood clinic is vital to obtain the necessary information and products to keep themselves and their partners safe, especially since they won’t be receiving it in school. Since the passing of the abstinence-only education bill, over 3 million patients visited Planned Parenthood clinics throughout America.

Enhanced by Zemanta
Filed Under: Advice, Parenthood Tagged With: , ,
Newer Posts »