I agree with you ToLiveToLaugh..
From my own experience this is what I can say..
I was friends with a girl when I was young named Sadie. Sadie lived up the road from me in a very middle-class, suburban home, 2 kids and a dog, kind of area. She was one of 4 girls in a very religious dutch family. They went to church every Sunday (and I went with them until I was about 10), and all read from the bible every evening before bed. The girls weren't allowed to do anything at all, the parents were quite restrictive and religious. Once they all started hitting middle school, they started going downhill. Their parents had taught abstinence and only that, no real education and I hate to say it, but our school system is awful about teaching sexual education. They have diagrams from the 50s, and up until recently they didn't teach much other than "OMG DON'T DO IT, you'll rot and get all these STI's" etc. Danielle, had 2 kids by the time she was done high school (second eldest daughter), Shannon had a falling out with her parents and moved away at the age of 16, she had kids later after getting married (eldest daughter), Jessica was a pot head throughout high school, did a lot of drugs, got really wasted, .. didn't get pregnant. Sadie, however, the youngest had a kid at 17. Gorgeous little girl. Sadie was and is still into drugs, she's a "punk" faux-skinhead, and lives in a small apartment downtown with a bunch of friends. Her parents take care of her now 4 year old daughter.
I just think that, IMO, her parents let them all down by not talking to them about sex. They believed only in marriage and then sex, and it totally backfired.
Everyone is open to their own opinions and ways of teaching their kids, but I just don't think it works. I do believe that we should be telling kids not to do it, but I also think we should be teaching them safe sexual practices and giving them a good, solid, education in sex. We should also provide them with everything they need to stay safe!
Now on to me! I was raised by my mum mostly. My dad had irregular hours (and still does) and we didn't see him as much. My parents were open about sex, we weren't and aren't religious, despite me going to church as a youngster for a small amount of time. I was involved in some sports, most that I hated, and I was involved in horse back riding. I grew up in the city though and spent my weekday afternoons and weekends at the barn with my horse. I was a baddd bad kid though. Despite all the great things my parents did for me, they taught me well, and how to be safe, etc. I was somewhat involved with a boy at 14, and was sexually active in my teens but my parents were diligent about teaching me about safe sex. I was told to keep condoms, etc. in my room and to go on the pill (though I already took it for my period). I have no kids, no STI's, and my parents did not once teach "don't do it" but "if you do it, be safe." Of course, I was intelligent enough not to start having sex at 12 years old.
From what I remember that article was from the UK? (I could be wrong) but things are different there. Unfortunately a lot of pre-teens are sexually active in the UK, and there, as my memory serves me from growing up there over the summers, seems to be an urgent need to grow up. Kids go through the school system faster and earlier in the UK and a lot of them are responsible for themselves a lot earlier than we are here. Most parents woulidn't dare think of leaving their kids home alone at 9 or 10, but when I was a kid and my cousins were young, it was very normal. I remember being in a shopping centre in my parents hometown in England and seeing a kid, who couldn't have been much older than 7, yabbering away on his cellphone. I didn't have a cellphone until I was 14, and I only had it because my parents couldn't be home all the time and I needed it for safety purposes.
BBH, I can't say I paid much attention to the media-frenzy surrounding beauty and sex appeal when I was in high school (not so long ago, I graduated in 2007). I never wore makeup, and I rarely do now. I know for *some* girls there was a certain pressure around looking beautiful and being the best at everything and that sex appeal but they were mainly in the more "popular" groups of girls. I was far from popular, and I wasn't thin and skinny either (still am not!). I think also that kids in a sense choose to be influenced by popular media by the way they dress, what music they listen to, etc. I primarily listened to bands like the beatles, and some rock and punk/ska. I wore very conservative clothing and covered up well. Whereas girls I knew who bought into the rap/hip hop and pop culture dressed like they did, skimpy and barely wearing anything. Most parents would be surprised to find out how much their kids music preference affects their sex life, sex appeal/(clothing).
I love love love the Dove Self-Esteem campain, if anyone has seen the commercials for it..
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