There is a nationwide debate about access to birth control in schools. On Oct. 17, 2007 the Portland School Committee voted to allow the Health Center at King Middle School in Portland, Maine to offer birth control to students, who range from 10 to 15.
I have to put my foot down on this one. Yes, kids/adolescents should have access to knowledge of birth control and birth control itself. Kids/adolescents should learn about sex and birth control in school long before they are sexually active. This might mean before middle school or junior high. By age 11 kids/adolescents are having sex. Parents may not want think about or acknowledge that 11 years olds are having sex. They are. Would you rather have an 11 year old using birth control or a pregnant 11 year old? If you give kids/adolescents education about sex, about birth control, about pregnancy, you will arm them with knowledge of the consequences of their actions.
When I was in collage I worked at a women's resource center. Part of my work involved birth control education. We would teach women and men how to use condoms. If a man would say he was to large to wear a condom we would demonstrate putting a condom over a two liter bottle. Try this yourself. The condom will fit over the entire bottle. I would say, "You are not as large as a two liter bottle, a condom WILL fit you."
My point is, not all kids/adolescents under 18 are having sex. The reality is that many are. I don't endorse anyone under 18 having sex. There are so many things to do when you are in high school besides getting laid. I think it's important for young women to know that they don't have to get pregnant if they do have sex. Pregnancy shouldn't be forced on anyone. And it's not a "punishment" for "pre-marital" sex. For the kids that are going to have sex then by all means learn how to use a condom. Learn about all of the methods of birth control. Learn how to avoid getting a sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Practice, practice, practice how to use a condom. Get a box of condoms and a banana and practice. See the following websites condom information.
condom overview
how to use a condom
adolescent health
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