<p>I imagine experimentation with your own sex actually begins much earlier than hetero exploration joev- I wouldn’t label all or even most of such encounters as “gay”</p>
<p>Okay, do you have your sunscreen, bandaids, bugspray, condoms…ah the joys of parenthood!!</p>
<p>I am the mom who negotiated the condoms for Africa–which were all stolen from luggage–presumably at the nairobi airport. S didn’t have a gf going into program–but found one soon enough in Africa. S was 17, nearly 18 at the time.</p>
<p>Most parent SHOULD know that if they send their kids to co-ed outdoor sleepaway camp, there is a good chance the kid will see/become sexually active at camp. 'Twas the way it was in the 1970’s and I am sure it is the same now. </p>
<p>Parents keep blinders on at their own peril.</p>
<p>Defying gravity, I hope you can talk to your parents about this.</p>
<p>this has been a good thread…the honesty is refreshing</p>
<p>This is a good thread. If more folks take off the blinders their kids will be more truthful and responsible. Testing is another issue for another thread.</p>
<p>Kristy “won” - I’ll never forget her face sitting on the swing saying “I never knew it was so personal”.</p>
<p>sounds like a good movie- and I love Matt Dillion too bad it isn’t on DVD</p>
<p>if kids want to have sex, they will have sex. whether theyre at camp or not, theyll find a way. thats why we have sex education.</p>
<p>thats why we should have sex education that teaches about contraception and disease- not that condoms don’t work.</p>
<p>of course, teach about contraception and disease. also warn about failure rates.</p>
<p>the right to “choose.” the choice was made nine months before childbirth. that includes assuming the risk of contraception failure.</p>
<p>Do we even need sex education? Kids at school tend to rebel and do exactly the opposite of what they are supposed to do. We should tell them that unprotected premarital sex is ok and they should do it. Condoms kill all the feeling anyways.</p>
<p>I don’t want to change the focus of thread but I disagree that everytime I have sex I run the risk of getting pregnant and I should accept the consequences.
A healthy sexual relationship is an important part of a serious adult relationship-say I have endanged pregnancies ( I do) am I really expected to give up sex because I am not inclined to be on bedrest for 9 months let alone take on the lifelong obligation for another child?
Yes I know that most children are self supporting by the time they are in their mid 20’s or so, but I also know several children who will not be able to be so, and will rely on government supports and trusts set up by their parents to feed and shelter them.
Far better that we develop and use reliable birth control and have measures available to deal with birth control failure</p>
<p>that said I think it is more likely that girls will get their first period at camp, then have their first sexual experience.
What is it about going away to camp?</p>
<p>killing an unborn baby is being taken too lightly these days.</p>
<p>kids have to get permission slips for school trips signed by their parents, but they don’t need permission to have an abortion? come on.</p>
<p>what it is about camp is freedom. for most kids a sleepaway camp is the first time theyre completely free from their parents for more than a day or two.</p>
<p>I don’t think kids alway rebel against what they’re told. I think ignorance is the main reason many kids aren’t properly protected. I found sex ed at school pretty candid and helpful</p>
<p>This is not a discussion on abortion, it is a discussion on the realities of teenage life and camps</p>
<p>I mean, I would hope most kids, of course, would not have sex at camp, especially with most likely someone they just met, but it does happen, and I would much rather someone be prepared and careful…</p>
<p>And, well, saying condoms kill all the feeling anyway, well, if that ain’t a pretty selfish comment…but honest, I guess, but its that kind of excuse that I find infuriating</p>
<p>Emerald - as someone once said, we can put a man on the moon but we can’t get decent birth control.</p>
<p>Sad - we should all look to China, where they are regulating the number of children people can have. Perhaps - just perhaps - we should recognize that we’ll be in that situation unless we NOW allow people to limit the number of kids they have.</p>
<p>If I live in a city and develop lung cancer, I’m not going to not get treatment because it was my choice to live in a city. When I go running and sprain an ankle, I’m not denied medical care because it was my choice to go running and I could have stayed at home. Obese overeaters are not denied medical treatment when they clearly could have used self-control and not had their medical problems… but there are millions of research dollars spent trying to figure out how to help them control their appetites, calories, exercise, and to minimize the devestating health effects. But eating is your own choice. I don’t buy singling out sex for “punishment” in medicine and society.</p>
<p>I believe that when kids get the facts publicly but cannot discuss them personally…within family…they feel conflicted. Truly they are not adults and engage in magical thinking and without the opportunity to dialogue about hypothetical, friends, themselves with parents it creates more fear and risk taking behavior. Somehow, the dialogue with family created for me a much greater sense of adulthood and promoted my confidence to model responsible adult behavior. My folks could speak to me about likely and especially about the combo of alcohol and poor decision making. Also…many, many of my peers are ill informed about the law regarding sex…ages, consequences, alcohol…consent versus inability to give consent…I think this a tremendous failure by many intelligent and educated parents. My belief is that knowledge is power.</p>
<p>ariesathena- a person is not dirt you can brush off your shoulder. (actually i guess you can, but you shouldn’t)</p>
<p>Not sure I follow.</p>