For school we're having to write a persuasive paper on a topic of our chosing. I recently had to switch mine because, i was having issues finding information on my other topic. The topic i got switchted to is 'Contraception in schools' basically whether or not school nurses should or should be allowed to give out contraceptives, confidetially and at low cost. Just out of curiosity more than anything i was wondering what Other people thought about this topic. Any of your opinions would be apretiated, and/or imformation that could help me with my paper...

speechlesstx

Charlotte, I think everyone agrees parents "should talk to their kids about the tough things" but you are still assuming that "bad parenting" is the only reason a kid "needs" to get "help" elsewhere and that's insane. You're assuming that the children of all "good" parents will go to their parents with any problem or when they make a mistake and that just ain't the real world. You've taken other influences out of the mix like friends, the entertainment industry, books, magazines, teachers, PP and even other family members. You - and parents - have no idea how they're being influenced at school, friend's houses and other places away from home, or how they act away from home. They may a completely different person away from home, and I know for a fact that children from the best homes stray in spite of every effort by the parent.

When a kid knows he/she can go to PP, or now possibly even the school clinic when they want condoms, BC, treatment for an STD, etc. without their parent's knowledge it only reinforces the idea that they're bulletproof and encourages the behavior.

That attitude is a huge part of the problem because it minimizes or removes accountability and consequences for the child. That's PP's attitude, kids should explore their sexuality, there should be no stigma in having sex, and we're going to make available whatever you need to do so and if there's a problem we're here to help with that, too - and your parents don't even need to know. That has to change.

Altenweg

Speechless, I do agree with you (bet you didn't expect to hear that), not all kids with good parents go to their parents when something bad happens. The problem that I have is that if we take away pp etc. that we are condeming allot of these kids with unwanted pregnancies, std's etc. because they would have nowhere else to go. I wish that these things didn't exist, but there is a need for them, like it or not. The best you can do is raise your children with open communication and love, hope that they value your opinion more than they value their friends and hope that they know that they can come to you with any problem. Even then, they might feel disinclined to come to you when the fit hits the shan. Wouldn't you rather that your kids have somewhere they can go, someone they can talk to if they don't feel that they can come to you? Once again, I hope I'm making sense and haven't taken anything you've stated out of context. I'm just a mom who cares very deeply for her kids and has seen too much Teenage pregnancy and the mostly unfavorable outcome to wear rose colored glasses when it comes to these issues.

speechlesstx

Altenweg, I'm not that easily surprised.

And I agree there are bad parents out there and someone has to step in and fill the void, I'd just rather it be the 'etc.' than PP. In my humble opinion (if I haven't made that clear enough already) the agenda they've pushed over the years exacerbates the problem, it doesn't solve the problem.

They believe EVERY person in the world has the right to "manage his or her fertility" as they put it, regardless of age. I'm sorry, but 13 year old girls do not have the right to manage their fertility themselves, or at least they shouldn't.

They believe we are sexual beings "from birth to death" and pledge to offer teens "the opportunities to explore and establish beliefs and attitudes" about sex. I'm sorry, but it's the parents place to offer "opportunities to explore and establish beliefs and attitudes" about everything. PP's whole world revolves around sex and we need to expose children to less sexuality instead of more if we ever hope to solve the problems of teen pregnancy and STD's.

I'm not advocating the current abstinence education, I haven't seen it for myself, but kids don't need PP's bias either. So where does that leave us? The answers aren't easy, but kids need more options than PP, and those that do need someone to step in should be required to demonstrate why their parents shouldn't be involved before any decisions are made. PP's attitude is yes, parents need to be involved in raising sexually responsible children - but - we know better than any stinkin' parents and we'll bypass them if we want to.

Exactly.

You make perfect sense, I actually wish I could find the right words to express what I'm really getting at myself. Of course we all want our kids to have somewhere to go if they don't feel comfortable talking to us, I just believe with all my heart there has to be something better than what PP offers and I'm fed up with their meddling in the lives of others and fighting against parental rights.

charlotte234s

Wouldn't you rather that your kids have somewhere they can go, someone they can talk to if they don't feel that they can come to you?


I know I would...

And I'm not saying it's always bad parenting that causes these problems, I'm saying that probably 8/10 times, it is though.

jillianleab

Thanks for clearing that up. We could debate on if this was intended or not, but that's another thread!

I checked your link and saw it does say that, but I wonder where they get their information (sources are not linkable) since it's contrary to virtually everything else out there.

Failure Rates of Contraceptives

It also sounds very similar to the incorrect information and terminology put out by the abstinence-only advocates.....

http://oversight.house.gov/Documents...2153-50247.pdf

Maybe it has to do with people reporting they use those methods perfectly, when in fact they do not. Who knows?

charlotte234s

Condoms when used perfectly have a 2-3% failure rate, not 13-14%

inthebox

Jillean

I loooked at that sites "about" - did not seem biased. The article had endnotes - but not linkable.

Probably a reporting or questionaire factor - I agree

ahh, only if things were perfect.

ETWolverine

Actually... no.

I do not want my kids going to some stranger who has absolutely no idea about my family values, my relationship with my kids, and what decisions I would make for my kids to make these decisions for me. I do not want outsiders deciding what my kids can and can't do. I do not want moral and ethical decisions made by complete strangers who have no idea what my personal moral values are, and what values I wish to impart to my children.

I don't want someone to teach my kids that its okay to have sex before marriage as long as they use protection. And I for damn sure don't want someone saying that its okay to have an abortion if that protection fails.

These are MY perogatives as a parent. I do not want my kids to have "somewhere else to go" who will teach them values that are contrary to the ones that I wish to teach them. And I don't want them to be able to sneak around my back by going to PP or their school nurse.

Charlotte, you have said a number of times in this string that in the majority of cases, it is bad parenting that leads to teen pregnancy. I don't necessarily agree... but assuming that is true, why do you advocate for a better way for kids to sneak around behind their parents backs with the official okay of their schools? If you believe that a large part of the problem is that parents don't know what their kids are doing, why are you pushing for a program that will make it HARDER for parents to know what their kids are doing? Doesn't that seem backward to you?

Elliot

NeedKarma

So Elliot, in that situation where the kids won't go to you, where do you advocate they go to?

ETWolverine

To me. If they have to try to deal with the problem on their own for a while without success, they will HAVE to come to me eventually.

In Alchoholics Anonymous, they call it hitting a bottom. When the problem becomes so overriding and so unmanageable that you have no choice but to seek help, you are ready to get help and start recovery. The alchoholic needs to feel the desperation of having no other choice but to seek help.

If my kids try to deal with such issues by themselves, but are unable to, and if the problem gets more unmanageable every day, they will eventually HAVE to come to the only people who can help them... their parents.

But if you give the kids a way out through school or PP, then they'll NEVER come to me. Why should they? The problem hasn't become unmanageable, and they don't feel the need to seek help.

So stop giving kids a way around their parents backs, and start making them feel the need to go to their parents with their sex-related problems. That's where these problems should be solved... not by school nurses and strangers from PP.

Elliot