Shouldn't we be surprised? That was the first thought that went through my head when I read the headline in a Nebraska paper. Teen STD rate called unsurprising I searched online to find the article again and found two more surprising article titles: Study finds 1 in 4 US teens has a STD and US Syphilis up for Seventh Straight Year Now, I am by far an expert in the health department, but just looking at the titles of these articles and I can see that something is wrong. No wonder we are not surprised by our children having an STD as young as 14. Yes, 14. We are talking about girls and boys that can't even drive! It kind of makes me wonder what is going on. First, because it is an STD, I am going to assume that there is some kind of sexual act going on. I think that is fair. The youngest age that they reported on was 14 (the oldest being 19). So let's assume that a 14 year old girl/boy is engaging in a sexual act. The thought of this in itself is not pleasing. One of two things is happening: either the parents have no clue or they know what is going on. Since I don't believe that these children (because that is what they are) would willingly perform these acts in front of their parents, they must be doing something away from their parents. How are these kids getting away from their parents to a place where other adults don't seem to mind and their parents would have no clue what was going on. The whole thought of any scenario sickens me.
Some people don't believe that the Abstinence talk is a bad thing, some disagree. Based on my own beliefs, I believe that abstinence is the best way. I also believe that when we have this talk with our young men and young women that we need to be sure they know what sex is. We do not need to go into much detail, but they do need to know that it is not just sexual intercourse. Contrary to the "I did not have sexual intercourse with that woman" line, oral sex is still sex and can still spread the disease. If we are not talking with our children about what is morally and biblically wrong.....well I think we see what happened.
Another alarming thing to think about is that they are now making it possible to start giving a shot for the HPV virus. Anything to get rid of STD's right? We are to give this three-dose vaccine to our girls at ages 11-12 with catch-shots for ages 13-26. I think that if we give our 11 year old girls a vaccine for something that they might get, what fear do they have of getting it? You are 11 years old, here is a shot that will prevent you from getting an STD, now go out to a party and have a good time. If we teach our children to abstain from sex of any kind then we can stop waisting time on vaccines for STD's and spend time on finding a cure for cancer. As if AIDS wasn't bad enough, now we have young kids having sexual contact and getting this horrible disease. No STD is better than another as far as I am concerned. They all spread and can all be prevented.
Picture this...A young man comes over to visit your daughter. They spend an evening having supper and talking with the parents. Now the parents know this young man and have a better idea of what their daughter might be doing with him. Remember when this was the norm. Before there were movies to go to. The goal of young "couples" seems to be to just get away from their parents. I use couples loosely because they really have no relationship other than this date. They probably aren't planning to get married or have even thought about it. Sex used to be something shared between two people who love each other and plan to be together forever. Now it is more of a way to pass the time while the parents are gone.
The point.... Talk to your kids, and whether you believe the Bible or not, know that the only one sure fire way to not get the STD is to take out the S. It is still a Disease, and can still be Transmitted, but without the Sexual contact the equation is broken. That is my one and a half cents. I have many more thoughts but get angered more as I think about it. You may or may not agree. That is okay. We live in America where we can make our own decisions.
