TEENS AND BIRTH CONTROL

Parents struggle with when and how to talk to their teen about birth control. Sometimes parents wait too long and their teen has already become sexually active. As parents, we all struggle with not thinking our teen is old enough to be thinking about sex - and they usually are thinking about sex long before we realize it. Many parents believe that talking to their teen about sex is like giving them permission to be sexually active. I think that talking to your teen in a thoughtful way is the best way to help him or her with this issue. You need to educate your teen about the risks of being sexually active - and this includes the emotional risks, not just pregnancy and disease. You as a parent need to assess if you think your teen might be sexually active - then you have to decide whether to think about birth control for your teen. A lot of recent political discussion has centered on this issue. What most studies show is that the majority of teens who are sexually active are not using birth control. So having your teen take birth control does not necessarily mean that you are giving them permission for sexual activity. This is a difficult area for all parents. Dr. Debra