A huge issue for teens and youth is sexuality. Thoughts about sex produce a lot of anxiety about pregnancy prevention, body changes and sexual intercourse, because people don’t always have the facts. At the Kaua‘i Expo Health Fair, I stopped
A huge issue for teens and youth is sexuality. Thoughts about sex produce a lot of anxiety about pregnancy prevention, body changes and sexual intercourse, because people don’t always have the facts.
At the Kaua‘i Expo Health Fair, I stopped by the Planned Parenthood Hawai‘i booth. There were excellent brochures available on many topics for males and females.
Here is a list of some titles:
• Women’s health: What’s normal what’s not
• Men’s health: What’s normal what’s not
These flyers explain the sexual organs, and the physical processes involved in creating mature eggs and sperm. There are pictures. They also tell you when something is abnormal, and when to go to a doctor.
• How do you know when you’re ready for sex?
“There many important things to consider when deciding whether you’re ready for sex, including personal values and goals, whether or not you are being pressured, how clear you can be with your partner about what you want and don’t want to happen, feelings about the kinds of emotional and physical risks you are willing to take, and what you want out of the relationship.”
Although sexy images are used to sell just about everything, and fill TV shows, people don’t have sex all the time.
There are four short questionnaires in this brochure on the subject of physical risks, pressure, being clear with your partner, and on your relationship with your partner. I highly recommend that teens who are considering having intercourse get this brochure.
This is what some teens need to know about being pressured into having sex, “It may seem as though everyone your age is having sex — especially intercourse. This can make you feel that you should be, too. But the truth is that only about half of high school students have ever had intercourse. Far fewer have it on a regular basis. Many kids, who have had sex wish that they had waited.”
• The facts of life — A guide for teens and their families
• Human sexuality — What children need to know and when they need to know it.
These two are meant to help families deal with the difficult “birds and bees” conversation. It goes into great detail explaining physiology, resulting body image issues, menstrual care, how pregnancy occurs, sexual orientation, how love and sexual desire are not the same thing, birth control, rape, STDs and some sexual myths that need debunking.
• Is abstinence right for you now?
• 101 ways to make love without doin’ it
Many people choose not to have intercourse; and these provide alternatives and can help one decide. Some of the reasons people abstain are to prevent pregnancy or STDs, for religious or cultural reasons, to just have fun with friends without sexual involvement, to have more time to pursue school, career or extracurricular activities, to wait to find the right partner, or until they have the emotional maturity to handle a sexual relationship.
• Birth control choices for teens
Wow! Twenty-five pages on birth control facts for teens, including costs, effectiveness, advantages and possible disadvantages. They also mention emergency contraception, which some call the “morning after pill.”
“EC can reduce the risk of pregnancy by 75 to 89 percent if used within 72 hours (three days) of unprotected sex. It may be effective up to 120 hours after intercourse, but the sooner it is used, the better.
• The Planned Parenthood Kaua‘i Clinic flyer
On Friday, Planned Parenthood sponsors a walk-in-clinic at the Malama Pono office on 4357 Rice St., Ste. 101, in Lihu‘e, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its phone number is 482- 2756. The organization offers confidential services for adults and teens from 14 and older. You don’t make an appointment. You just walk in with an ID that shows your birthdate. They offer all of the above flyers for free, and condoms for teens under 18. For adults they charge $2 for 10.
The services they offer for free are birth-control consultation, birth-control pills, the shot, the ring and the patch, emergency contraception, pregnancy testing, safer-sex counseling and education, and transgender services. The also offer HIV and HPV (genital warts) testing for a fee.
Sexuality is not a scary issue if you know the facts, know yourself and what you want, and know how to express that to your partner. Be informed. Go with a friend if it makes it easier for you. And parents, your child will be wanting to know. Even though it might be embarrassing on both sides, children would rather learn it from someone they trust, or they will find out somehow, and what if they are misled? This article is meant to offer suggestions to you both.
By the way, it is recommended that pre-teens learn about the whole development/fertility/pregnancy cycle and care, rape, abortion, birth control, and how to protect themselves from abusive relationships.
I was taught to teach my children by age 12 so that they don’t really think that you think they are active. However, some children are actually active, and since they sometimes don’t have a clue, very early pregnancies can happen.
Planned Parenthood can help make it all easier. It may be your first time teaching someone, but not theirs!
• Hale ‘Opio Kaua‘i convened a support group of adults in our community to ‘step into the corner’ for our teens, to answer questions and give support to youth and their families on a wide variety of issues. Email questions or concerns facing youth and families today to Annaleah Atkinson at aatkinson@haleopio.org.
