Should Birth Control Be Offered to Middle School Students?
This is really crazy and shocking to me.
I was watching the news about thirty minutes ago, and a story popped up about children, yes children, from the ages to 11 to 13, in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade being offered the option of birth control under the Portland School Committee. Birth Control? I'm only seventeen, but when I was in the 6th grade I was into boys, but not to the point where sex entered my mind. I was mainly worried about getting my first "real" kiss, not about whether I was pregnant or not. And yes I know that many people are different than me, but this is just crazy. I heard on the news, that to recieve 'the pill', that you need parental consent. If a parent has time to give their child consent about getting birth control offered from school, shouldnt they have at least a little bit of time to talk to their child and warn them about the consequences of sex. Not just that, but do they not have time to be a parent and know where their child is at all times, or actually be concerned with the things their child is doing. I think that if a parent signs a form telling the school that it is alright that their 12 yr. old daughter to recieve birth control, they are a sorry excuse for a "parent".
I know that there are some parents, that are not parents, and really dont care what their child does, and their child seems not to know any better. In this case the school should not be focused on "promoting sex" by basically saying, it's ok if you DO IT if you have "the pill", but spend their money on promoting and inventing programs teaching pre teens and teenagers the consequences of sex. What about an STD? Do you think the young child is going to know about that? I really do not think so.
To me it just seems like society is letting go of morals. One reason there are girls getting pregnant, is because of the way the media displays sex. "Its what you do when your in love." "Its special.""It's fun." Maybe these are true at an instant, but what about in the long run. Just think of how these girls will be emotionally affected and physically affected. Sex is for adults,(in my opinion married adults), not children, so lets not try and promote it as it is the ok thing to do.
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In my opinion yes, children in middle school should recieve birth control and much knowledge about the consequences of sex. Kids everywhere around those ages are getting more exposed to sex and should be safe. Whether its partially scaring them about the dangers of sex or providing them with birth control. Its amazing how kids have changed so much and I am a senior in highschool and has never had sex. my boyfriend neither and hes 21.
Its scary whats out there and knowing but not consciously paying attention and doing it anyways. Sex should wait until marriage. Thats what I am doing and WOULD NEVER have it any other way.
Boys and Girls can practically ruin their future from making 1 simple decision. I think that schools should have IN DEPTH dicussions on whats out there and the consequences of sex. Even if it slightly scares the children. If they think that discussing it is scary, try letting it happen to them.
Then it wouldnt be such a simple, forwarning discussion.
If they're in 7th grade and have already had sex, then there is something wrong. Either at home no ones giving attention or they're really curious and dumb. Hearing about what younger girls do now at parties or with their boyfriends and thinking back when I was that age, i dont even think i knew what that was. I dont know girls and boys need to stop being such whores!
Same here. That was not even something that was on my mind at that time in my life. It is crazy!
Can you look back and remember the ones that were like that? Don't you think they deserve to have some formal education about what they're doing? They're going to do it anyways, so why not give them the information that they need to protect them from STD's and pregnancy?
I have never failed. I have successfully discovered 10,000 ideas that don't work.
-Thomas Edison
I agree with your point about the parenting (in a sense)... when I was in sixth and seventh grade, if I was going out (ESPECIALLY with a boy) there had to be an adult with us. My first outing without a parent was when I was in 7th grade and I could only go since it was a group trip to the mall (not to mention my friend's mom was wandering the mall herself, lol). I'm grateful for my parents caring so much.
But I don't think girls that age should be denied birth control. I am a bit confused though. Planned Parenthood offers birth control; if not the pill then bags and bags of condoms. Why isn't the school promoting Planned Parenthood? If the parents have to sign a form anyway, why would the girls be so keen to ask the school for the pills?
It doesn't make sense.
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http://progressiveu.org/blog/burningexample
Even though you could just click my picture
I think the fact that we have to resort to giving middle school children birth control is absurd. I think most of us at that time were not thinking what these girls are thinking about. Times have changes drastically and we now have to resort to picking the lesser of two evils in many matters. I think that birth control should be given to these girls because we are at the point where they cant be stopped now. They have already gotten into their heads that it is ok and it would just be better for themselves if they had some sort of protection. Im not saying that its ok that they are doing this but we should at least help them. But i also think that parents hsould take a more active role in their childrens upbringing as opposed to letting them do whatever they want and then suffering the consequences later on.
If they are going to have sex. why wouldn't you give them birth control?
"Our politics are our deepest forms of expression, they mirror our past experiences and reflect our dreams and aspirations for the future."
Exactly right!!!! Everyone knows that kids are exposed to sex earlier and earlier and then act like it's some sort of crime to talk to them about it at that age. What is wrong with protecting the children that needs the protection?
I have never failed. I have successfully discovered 10,000 ideas that don't work.
-Thomas Edison
Back in the 60’s the Federal Government came into the public schools and brainwashed us as little children with the message that the children we were about to have were unwanted because the population was rising so fast. They launched a program called, “Zero Population Growth”. They pushed Family Planning and birth control pills. Now they call the same programs, "Safe Sex" but the results are the same. I think you and I both know that you only have to trick people for their few child bearing years and there is no going back.
Many of us never had a say in the future of our unborn.
I am the result of two living cells. One from each of my parents. They are the result of two living cells, one from each of their parents. I wasn't just born. I am a continuation of life. I am a living thing that reaches back into time perhaps 400 million years and the result of billions of joining of pairs of cells. It is possible that if you were to follow my cells back to my parent’s cells and beyond that my family tree touches every living thing here on earth. That is if we limit ourselves to believing life was created here on earth. If it rained down from the immensity of the universe it could reach back into that immensity of time and space, and who knows what relationships and who knows what species.
My family line succeeded, at least until I came up against the Federal Government and their plan to control the population.
I have seen the Federal Government do little else to control the population.
The open border, United States laws only apply to some, is a serious slap in the face. No, not a slap in the face, it reaches well beyond that. Maybe back to the beginning of time and stretch to the bounds of the universe.
I think it's a great idea the school is offering perscription birth control and condoms. If I had wanted to have sex at any point while I lived with my parents they would have knocked the shit out of me. If kids are going to have sex it's better they have access to protection.
It's terrible when people stereotype people because of certain characteristics or activities. You call people whores, but you don't know who they are or what they are going through. Just because you have sex at an early age doesn't mean you're slutty or a whore. My wife had a child when she was 16, but she was with the same person from 12 to 22 and had two children with him. Just because she had a child at an early age doesn't mean she was a whore, it just means that she made certain decisions that weren't to her best interest. She wouldn't change anything because our children are our whole life, but we make them know that it's hard when you have kids at an early age. We struggle more than other parents at our age because we're young and have three kids. I'm working hard at school so I can have my degree and make changes to our life, but it really offends me when you say things like, 'I think that if a parent signs a form telling the school that it is alright that their 12 yr. old daughter to recieve birth control, they are a sorry excuse for a "parent". " Being a parent and my wife having been a teenage parent herself, I know first hand that birth control is imparative to kids who are having sex. It allows them to protect themselves from having to struggle the way we struggle. Being a parent myself I'm going to give my children knowledge of birth control and contraceptives. I'll be the first person to give my kids a condom or take them to planned parenthood. If they are going to make the decesion of having sex, I'm going to be there for them and tell them that I don't like the idea (as if they would care) but if they are going to do it anyway, then I would hope that they do use birth control or condoms. I don't think that makes me a sorry excuse for a parent. That makes me a concerned and loving parent that takes an interest in the well-being of my children even if they make stupid decisions.
I have never failed. I have successfully discovered 10,000 ideas that don't work.
-Thomas Edison
its almost like its giving them permission to do things like that
why not try and stop it instead of preventing them from having kids..
I know you don't have kids just by saying that because you can't make your kids do everything, especially if you have a strong willed child. You can't be with your kids every single minute of every single day. And as your kids get older you trust them more and let them go out with friends and stay at friends' houses...you have to. Some kids will betray that trust. And some kids will want to do it more if you insist that they don't and try your hardest to prevent it. They will find a way. Think back to when you were a kid and you will understand. And for those of you who did obey, doesn't mean that you wanted to. I'm sure there were times that you wished you would have not listened and did what you wanted to anyway. Alot of kids will do what they want to anyway at any costs. As a parent you have to hope that the values you tried to instill in your child pull through and they don't make stupid choices. But they are their own person and will make choices for themselves, it's innevitable. All I'm saying is I want to give my children the option of birth control and contraceptives in case they make the decision to have sex, even if that is at 12 and I don't want them to. Just because I don't want them to with every fiber of my being doesn't mean they aren't going to. Or I could quit my job and school, my wife can quit her job and we can go on welfare or social security and we can follow our children everywhere they go. And if they try to have sex, we can bust in and stop them. That'll prevent them from having sex!!!
I have never failed. I have successfully discovered 10,000 ideas that don't work.
-Thomas Edison
Just on a side note about making your children do things that they don't want to (or in the case of sex, things that they do want to), I've been trying for an hour and a half to get my son to bed. I've read to him, sung to him, gave him a drink, changed his diaper (he's 2), scolded him, sat by his bed waiting for him to fall asleep...but he doesn't want to. I can't tie him to his bed, and I can't make him go to sleep. I don't want to hover over him until he falls asleep, especially when it's not working anyway. Since you think it's so easy to get your kids to do what you want no matter what, you tell me, what should I be doing to get him to go to sleep?
It's the same with teenager's and sex. I can do everything I can to prevent them from doing it, but if they want to, they are going to do it anyway.
I have never failed. I have successfully discovered 10,000 ideas that don't work.
-Thomas Edison
I believe that if you raise your kids with morals, discipline and instill a trust in them, by the age of 12 they should not be anywhere close to having sex.
At the age of 12 and 13 these kids will not take the pill regularly, they will forget, because at that age they are not super responsible. And DUH, you can not be with your kids 24/7, but you have to know where they are, and let them know that IT IS NOT RIGHT TO BE 'DOING IT' AT THAT AGE. And yes teenagers are going to have sex. At this middle school I am refering to here, 5 girls admitted to being sexually active. Just 5. now, how big do you think that number will increase? yeah, think about it.
You can talk until you're blue in the face, but your kids will eventually start making decisions for themselves with or without your approval. I was only trying to point out that some kids will defy their parents earlier than others. It doesn't necesarily have to be about defiance either. You want your kids to someday start taking control of their lives, but not too soon. I believe that the most moral disciplinarian can be thwarted no matter what morals they triy to instil in their child. All that child has to do is disagree with any or even just one of your arguments to give them the justification they need to 'do it.' No matter what you've taught them, they will eventually start making decisions on their own.
"by the age of 12 they should not be anywhere close to having sex."
you're right, they should be...doesn't mean that they aren't going to anyway.
"And DUH, you can not be with your kids 24/7, but you have to know where they are,"
Are you serious? If kids want to do it, they will find a way. You may try to refer back to the instilling of the morals argument, but that still doesn't mean they will agree with your morals. alot of people turn away from the teachings of the bible the more the learn about it. Same thing can happen to children and their parents. the more their parents lecture about safe sex and not being ready and blah blah blah, the more they turn their backs. Even morals can't stand up to the rebelious stage of any teenager (or in this case we're referring to preteens who think they got a handle on things but don't really).
It is scary to think about, especially since my oldest daughter is 9. I'm just a couple years away from those statistics becoming my reality. It's scares the shit out of me that my child could possibly be having sex that soon. I can only pray that my morals and discipline or my beliefs and talks will have an impact on them deciding against having sex at such an early age.
I have never failed. I have successfully discovered 10,000 ideas that don't work.
-Thomas Edison
This is a tough one.
As much as parents are involved in thier jobs and not their children these days, it seems that everything is being left up to the schools. So from the schools perspective, I would say yes, give them the pill because school officials just want kids to stay in school and not turn into a prego drop-out. And on the other hand, this has to be put back on the parents to teach their children about the dangers of sex. I would also go for more sex-ed in school.
Bottom line is that our kids are being exposed to people like Hilton and Spears who they look up to for some reason, yet the parents aren't there to tell them that those people are not role models. I remember growing up with Madona, but I always knew she was a whore, or at least acted like one. And that because society and my parents told me so. Our society today seems to think that everything is either ok for our kids to see and/or experience or we just don't care anymore. Parents just need to take more responsibility for their children and get involved more in thier lives.
Tabias-
My mom was a complete dictator, which I don't think is the best method for keeping your kids safe, so I want to find a better way to teach my kids when I have them. My mom's method of parenting just made me and my sisters into wilder kids because we got tired of hearing how everything we wanted to do was "bad, dirty and wrong." Despite the fact that she had strict curfews, numerious rules about when and where we could hang out with boys and so forth, we found ways to rent hotel rooms, buy alcohol and have sex....
Luckily, we where a little smarter then most kids at that age and we also snuck out of the house to go to Planned Parenthood on a regular basis. Because our mom told us we where forbidden to go on "the pill," it felt like a challenge and we had fun finding rides to PP so we could get that "evil little pill."
So I guess my mom's rules worked like reverse phsycology for us..both in good ways and bad ways. Because she told us we could never get on the pill, we all did, therefore she didn't end up becoming a grandma in her late thirties/early forties...
But if we hadn't been so motivated to get to Planned Parenthood, no doubt we still would have had those wild hotel parties and one of us would have been pregnant...
Gosh I have no idea wiether we should be giving middleschoolers birth control or not...I used to work with young kids at a youth center and I remember being shocked when a ten-yr old told me I should buy him condoms so he could have sex...he went on to say that all of his friends had sex and he didn't see why he shouldn't as well. I didn't feel morally right about giving a ten-yr old condoms, so instead I told him I'd buy him a cap-gun. He seemed just as pleased with that...somehow I think I did the right thing in that case...I have a feeling he really just wanted the condoms to show off to his friends. However, I have no doubt that there are ten-yr olds who are very sexually active...in fact, some of my friends have revealed that their earlest sexual encounters where around that age, as hard as it may be for some of us to imagine. At that age, I was just starting to "play around' with girlfriends and had no interest yet with boys....but that started soon enough.
Love,
Sycamore Fitch
I have friends who've been on the pill since they were in middle school. Not for preventing pregnancy, but to regulate their periods. A lot of women and girls take birth control to keep their period regular (rather than completely spastic and unpredictable, to the point where you don't know if you'll have one this month, and if you do, if it will be early or late, long or short, heavy or light) and to suppress debilitating cramps. Yes, many people have cramps so bad that they can't move. Yes, it does get that bad, and missing a week of school every month just doesn't work. Since many girls start their periods at age 11 or 12, I don't see a problem with birth control at that age for the reasons I've mentioned above. However, in our society, the chances that a 12-year-old is mature enough to have sex is rare. I'm not saying it doesn't happen, but I know that I wasn't mature enough at that age, and though I knew of the possible consequences, I would not be prepared to deal with them. I was a rather mature 12-year-old, but I never would have even considered sex. I didn't even kiss a guy until I was 17. I really don't think kids in middle school should need protection, but if they're going to do it, they should at least be able to do it semi-intelligently.
I don't need drugs - I have genetics.