How Young Is Too Young for Birth Control?
Earlier this year, we had some very lively discussion on whether it’s appropriate to mandate the HPV vaccine for school-age girls. Some folks argued that parents don’t know when their kids will become sexually active (let’s all hope it’s older than 12, shall we?), so mandating the vaccine protects girls who many not know that they’re risking cervical cancer with sexual activity.
NYT health blogger Tara Parker-Pope revealed some startling findings (reported by researchers at Columbia University) that make me think that contraception during the middle school years may not be such a bad idea after all:
- Middle school kids “date.” Nearly half of the kids ages 14 and younger who were surveyed reported having been on a date or having had a romantic relationship in the previous 18 months.
- About one in five kids had had sexual intercourse by age 14. Percentages increased with age. By age 12, 4 to 5 percent of adolescents had had sex. At age 13, the figure had increased to 10 percent, and by age 14 it was between 18 and 19 percent.
- Boys are more likely than girls to have had sex at an early age. By age 12, 2 to 4 percent of girls had been sexually active, while 6 to 8 percent of boys had been sexually active.
- Among kids having sex, three-quarters reported using condoms. However, half of the 14-year-olds surveyed incorrectly believed it was against the law for kids under 16 to buy condoms.
- One in seven sexually active girls in this age group had been pregnant.
HPV vaccine aside, what does this mean for the sexual and emotional health of our children? What role does sex ed play? What can parents do to educate and protect their kids? What do you think?
Addendum: See Sara’s take, “Maine Middle School to Offer Birth Control to 11 Year Olds” at Healthbolt.
Tags: Birth control, child, contraception, contraceptive, Gardasil, grade-school, HPV-vaccine, kid, middle-school, sex-ed, woman, women, Womens-HealthRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Birth control, Parenting, Real life, Sex
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1 opinion for How Young Is Too Young for Birth Control?
Lucy
Dec 7, 2007 at 4:41 pm
you know how there’s really nothing on long term side effects of oral contraceptives? i was researching and came across very important information: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060104232338.htm
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