The statistics are out there. Teenagers are having sex.
Pick yourself up from the floor, it’s not a breaking news story.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveyed U.S. high school students in 2013 and of those surveyed, 46.8 percent had already had sex. Of that grouping, 34 percent had sex within the previous three months, and 40.9 percent did not use a condom.
I know my son has already had sex, and my teenage daughter is starting to date, so it’s only natural that things will eventually progress. We’re not the Duggars, no one is waiting for marriage in our household. It’s just a simple fact, they’re going to have sex, and I’m going to need to prepare everyone for when it happens.
So, today when we were at Target and my 17-year-old son said, “Mom, I need some condoms,” I took him into the aisle and we got some condoms.
I’m pretty sure he was just joking about his need for condoms at that moment and that he’s not going to run out this weekend and look for a “sure thing.” We’ve taught our kids about respecting themselves and others, and that sex is something that should be done between two people who care deeply about each other, and better if it’s with someone you love.
However, I’d rather have him tell me that he needs condoms than have him tell me he has an STD or that he is going to be a father. That’s exactly how I feel about the situation. Sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy are preventable. He’s a teenager and I know he’s going to have sex — maybe, God willing, not every day and not with every girl he dates, but he’s definitely going to have sex. And I want him to have safe sex.
When we got home from Target, I casually mentioned to his father that I bought him condoms.
“Mom thought I needed them!” he quickly threw me under the bus, and walked out of the room, clearly embarrassed.
“Why did you buy him condoms?” my husband asked me. “Do you think he’s ‘getting some’?”
Of course, I already knew ‘he got some,’ but that’s for my son to share with his dad in his own time. Instead, I said, “He’s 17. What were you doing when you were 17?”
And my husband nodded his head understandingly.
“But not to worry,” I said to him, “He won’t be doing it too often, I only bought him a three-pack of Trojans.”
More on teens and sex
Teens and sex: Playing it safe, or still taking risks?
The teens and birth control debate
My kids are definitely going to sext, and that’s OK
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