The 4th "R"

Ok soapbox time, let me dust it off and get on.

Yesterday on my way to school, there two teenage girls got on. They could not be more than 16 years old. They were chatting and one of them says that this is the first winter in two years that isn't "with no baby". She proceeds to tell her friend that is glad she is not pregnant and that this summer she won't worry about giving birth because she wants to go out with her friends. Her friend mentioned that she should bring the kids to her house so that her mother can watch the babies while the go away for the weekend.

It got me thinking...you are 16 years old with two kids and you are worried that they are cramping your freedom. Well to put it in terms that they can associate with.. Duh!

I often wonder how things like pregnancy can happen to young people. I know that there are many factors and it is hard to pinpoint just one. I am not blaming nor judging them for their actions. But actions have consequences and no matter what age you are, having a baby makes you grow up fast!

Parent's have a certain responsibility but, sometimes the best intention mom or dad can't do anything to prevent it. Schools are afraid to talk about it because they may lose funding. So kids retreat to the famous rumor mill to get info and we all know how the rumor mill is full of false info.

Schools should hand out condoms and should have a honest and frank dialogue about sex. Education is a powerful tool, I mean we all can remember some things that. Should they talk about abstinence...yes just as they would talk about STDs and AIDS. I also think that students should handle a baby, change a stinky diaper, get spit up on, wake up in the middle of the night for a feeding. That teaches one what it is like to have a tiny human to look out for. It is not a doll that can be put away when you are bored, it is a living, breathing, moving tiny person.

I can speak only from my experience. We had sex ed chapter in in Catholic school in 5-8 grade. In high school, my conservative teacher told us, that she knew we had questions so she was going to answer them. So she handed out index cards and we wrote our questions and true to her word she answered each and every one of them honestly and frankly.

So just as our schools teach the 3 Rs, they should add a fourth one...responsibility. Not just about sex and its consequences but about life and its responsibility.

Ok, off my soap box...