<p>We were at a family gathering recently, and one of the guests happened to be the Nurse Practitioner at one University(wont say which one) doesn’t much add to the story, as it is the overall message that is important cause I m sure this story is played out at all schools, so no reason to post it.</p>
<p>Anyway, first and foremost, TALK TO YOUR KIDS IN DEPTH exactly the things that are going on.
I am not naive by any stretch, but the info/kids on paths to destruction was eye opening. Boys and girls she said some having 30+ partners already.
Tell both daughters and sons the REAL TRUE RISK of STD’s. All it takes is one unprotected encounter, but she said it seems all the talk in HS doesn’t seem to sink in. She said they are all at risk, but the females are like a dartboard for em,how date rape is rampant after alcohol use.
HIV dx come thru her office, herpes, you name it. </p>
<p>Talk to them often, Im sure speaking to the choir, but kids may have roommates that might do this stuff, she also sees kids cutting/self mutilating. That is something I can’t get my brain around but happening.</p>
<p>She said the counseling she has to do after the fact is heart wrenching, the week of waiting for results has put many a kid on the brink of breakdowns. Also the foreverness of herpes and having to “share” that info with future partners she said freaks them out.</p>
<p>She said just telling the boys how it is tested for sometimes scares them enough, envision the cotton q-tip internally would put them jumping off a table.</p>
<p>Kids drunkenness and falling out of windows, or clowning around and a fall.
I was glad I spoke with her, and just hope the right choices are made.</p>
<p>This is very important information, and at my high school it is so ridiculous how rampant unprotected sex has become. </p>
<p>The sad thing is, almost all the parents,students, and friends on this website aren’t the ones that really need this information. Everyone here is smarter than the average joe and probably already know a lot of the risks. </p>
<p>Every parent has their own way of teaching their kids these lessons. My brother and myself are both very aware about the dangers of sex, but my parents have never said a single word to us. So this gets me to think that there is only so much a parent can do to enlighten their children. At the end of the day, it will be the child’s decision to listen or to ignore the parent, or look up information on their own. I know many parents don’t want to hear this, but the truth is, they social pressures will have a bigger influence on the child’s life compared to what a parent might say.</p>
<p>azngamer, I think the reason you think social pressures have a much greater influence than what a parent says is because you admit your parents never said anything to you. I agree with you about the great role social pressures play, but I am still optimistic enough to think that the honest conversations dh and I have had with our kids carry a good deal of weight.</p>
<p>I agree with CBK about the crazy stuff that goes on. I heard from a friend about her sixth-grade son who was asked to play a sex game on the school bus by older girls. He made the mistake of writing about it in an e-mail to some other kids, and the dad of a girl who received the e-mail called my friend’s dh. Thank goodness for nosy parents!</p>
<p>My parents never mentioned sex at all, except for the one time my mom told me not to sleep with the first guy I met in college (but she was angry for some other reason at the time, so it essentially came down to “don’t be a whore; it’ll ruin your life”). </p>
<p>As it happened, I did sleep with the first guy I met, more or less – but we’ve been dating eight months today and met at the accepted students’ weekend last April, so I’d consider that acceptable. My parents probably suspect it, but I’m very happy that they haven’t asked.</p>