Last month, I had the honor of interviewing Brenda Miller, who founded the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. This organization cut the pregnancy rate in DC by over 50% since it first started, and their new goal is to do the same again. How do they do this? By actually encouraging parents to have honest discussions with their kids.
When I grew up, in my house we did NOT talk about sex. Everything I learned about this taboo subject was either in school in health class aka “sex ed” or through friends. Now as a parent, I can tell you there is no way I want my child to think he can’t talk about this subject with me, and I’m not stupid enough to say “just say no” until you are married– seriously I only know one person that did that, and that was before the explosion of the information age, where anyone one of us can get sex in a nano second.
It’s more than just a one-time talk about the birds & the bees. It’s about opening up the lines of communication so you can have on-going discussions about the importance of having a life plan– goals for education, a family, and a career. Also, we have to talk to kids about healthy relationships– there are A LOT of sickos out there, and our kids need to know what is unacceptable behavior.
Through honest discussions- that is how we will not only prevent teen pregnancy, but make sure that our children know what a loving relationship should look like, and what it doesn’t look like. If you love your child, don’t ignore having “the talk.”
To learn more about DC Campaign check out: www.dccampaign.org
Here is the link to our interview:
