Even Bristol Palin can't talk about teen pregnancy...

It's more than just diapers and diseases...

When it comes to talking about sex, the last person any teenager wants to talk to about this issue is their own parents. However, the taboo surrounding an honest parent-child sex education dialogue needs to be quashed. Parents and educators must stop tip-toeing around the very scary reality of teen pregnancy in the United States.

In a recent Time article, staggering statistics reported that there is a clearly lapse in communication between parents and children surrounding the topic of sex. The article claims that 40% of children have had sex without having a practical discussion with their parents about the impacts of engaging in sexual relationships. Furthermore, what seems to be even more interesting is that many parents believe that they have talked with their children about sex and sexuality issues, but children are not hearing their message.

As teen pregnancy among celebrities, such as Bristol Palin or Jamie Lynn Spears, becomes more and more publicized, the sex-ed conversation between parents and children is becoming more and more difficult to have. Television programs such as ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager seem to romanticize teen pregnancy into a schmaltzy-made-for-tv-series-drama. It seems that pop-culture has further watered down the consequences of teen pregnancy.

The biggest concern, however, seems to be that the sex-ed conversation, on the rare occasion that it does occur, only highlights the physical consequences of adolescent sexual behavior. Many times, the psychological and emotional impact that sex and sexuality have especially on adolescents is too often ignored. Emotional development is at its peak during teenage years. This is the time when people start to create a concrete sense of self-respect, self-worth, and self-image, and sex and sexuality both compromise the way in which these identities are manifested. As Dr. Jann Gumbiner explains, parents must “emphasize the importance of self-respect, taking care of ourselves, and making responsible informed decisions. Without accurate and reliable information, young people cannot make responsible decisions”

Parents, teachers, and mentors cannot continue to ignore the conversation surrounding sex topics. If the Baby boomers cannot figure out how to establish a constructive dialogue for this topic, Generation Y is going to be left to pick up the pieces of naïve sexual irresponsibility.