Since we started class out on Tuesday with an awkward freewrite, I decided I would torture you guys even more with an awkward blog.
Sex.
Nobody wants to talk about it, and that's understandable. It should be awkward. It's something that should remain hidden from everybody but your "romantic partner." However, should the awkwardness of talking about sex keep parents from telling their children what it is?
When I was a kid, my elementary school had a video they would show on puberty in third grade. My dad thought that they would cover the topic of sex, but they never did. It was more on the changes you go through. I never told him that we weren't told about sex, so I ended up learning from the worst possible source: the middle school "upperclassmen" that I was friends with at the time. Everybody knows how juvenile middle school boys are, and because of that I was told everything wrong, and nothing made sense to me. I remembered being a very confused third grader; at least until I told my dad that I was confused the next year. Everything was straightened up after that, but that's not really the point.
My point of this blog is pretty simple actually. Do you think that some topics should just be ignored because they are awkward? Sometimes, as in my case, they could be important. If my dad had just told me about sex straight away instead of depending on my school to do it, it would have saved a lot of embarrassment and confusion in my third grade life. I think this sort of thinking could apply to anything, whether it be friendships or literature. I believe that being open about topics that would often be avoided often brings people closer together. What do you guys think?
I think the school tries to keeps us away from the topic of sex because they think that we might do it too soon. I think they should teach sex so we know not to do it until we are older. It's a fact of life we all have to face at some point. It's better to teach it at young so that this "awkwardness" and "juvenile behavior" could lessen a bit or completely disappear.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is important that kids know from both the school and their parents about sex. It is important that we grow up knowing the consequences of having sex. School is to teach us about what it is and parents are for instilling family morals in us. I think that is the problem today. Parents are afraid to have the talk with their kids when really they are just causing more harm by not. Teens are going to have sex. There is no way around that. You need to teach them how to protect themselves and what the consequences are. I graduated with almost 10 pregnant girls in my class. I think that this could be avoided if parents and schools just accepted that fact that teens will have sex. Then we could all just sort out away to prevent this. Which is better having a baby at 16 or having an awkward conversation?
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think that parents should educate their kids about sex at a young age to avoid confusion. Its important for kids to understand it early so they can start to grasp its value and importance. They need to be taught safety the same time they are taught about sex. Teaching them at the same time associates them together. So in the future when kids here sex they think condoms. Today I met a girl who told me she tried to have a baby but it failed so now she has unprotected sex because she thinks she can't get pregnant. This girl is turning 21 in a few months. Parents should educate kids so they have time to understand it and then make better decisions in their futures. I wish my parents explained sex to me but I had to learn from my high school brother who made it seem like it was not a big deal when it really is.
ReplyDeleteI agree. My mom got her period in third grade and neither of her parents had told her what it was. When she first got it she thought she was dying and freaked out. Luckily she had an older sister who explained it to her. Since my mom got hers at such a young age she told me about in third grade. At the time it really just freaked me out because no one wants to get a period especially a 9 year old. Even though I didn't end up getting it till much later I was thankful my mom explained it to me. Kids in school would talk about it and had my mom not informed me of what it really was I would have been way more freaked out.
ReplyDeletePersonally i am against not talking about topics because the are too "awkward", being open minded is awesome. Talking about things circulates ideas around and helps people understand something better. As for the "sex talk", i believe it is something the parents should do. Lets face it, sex-ed in school is nothing more than an opportunity for everyone to just mess around and laugh because their teacher said "penis" or "vagina". Kids don't take it seriously. It is the parent's responsibility to teach their kids. Sadly some parents have a brain smaller than a peanut and raise ignorant kids who know nothing about the responsibilities and sacrifices along with maturity that it takes to raise a child. This is probably why there's so many 16 year old pregnant chicks walking around.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this. I think that people need to be more open about awkward topics. Yes, sex is a big topic that I think every kid needs to learn about. Do the parents want to talk about it? No. I think it's a generation thing, too. Back when our parents were kids, stuff like that wasn't brought up. Anything personal was kept hush hush. Nowadays, everything is out in the open thanks to social media sites and tv. I remember one day I was hanging out with my grandma (she's 91) and a commercial for condoms came on tv. She was shocked that they would advertise something like that and told me they never would even speak of such a thing. But I think the parents of todays kids need to sit down and tell them about it. It's for their own sake. I doubt they wanna be grandparents when their kid is 16....
ReplyDeleteHmm.. yeah this can be an extremely awkward topic to talk about. I never had this conversation with my parents either so I had to figure things out on my own. My parents and I aren't very emotional together so now I feel like the conversation would have been a little bit awkward. Some topics are difficult to talk about but sometimes once you get the conversation over with you might end up becoming closer with one another. I had a conversation with one of my friends recently. I was already really close to her but now I am able to have more open conversations with her and I like it. It all depends on the topic and the people who you are talking to.
ReplyDeleteI think that parents should not depend on schools to teach their children about sex. Every time we talked about sex in school it was more like the changes that we go through in puberty. Because of this I had to learn what sex really was through television and middle school. So I used the bits and pieces I learned to figure out what sex was. My parents never really had the "talk" with me. Even though it is an awkward subject to talk about I wish my parents would have told me instead of learning through my friends. If parents would talk to their children about sex teen pregnancy would not be such a big thing right now.
ReplyDeleteI believe that parents should not rely on schools to teach kids about sex. While it is important for schools to teach some aspects about sex school should definitely not be the first place that a child learns about sex. Parents need to realize that the sex conversation will awkward no matter what. So parents should just get it over with. It is better for children to learn from their parents opposed to other kids. While growing up I heard many incorrect information as a kid. Luckily after a while my parents educated me. Having open conversations avoids confusion within kids.
ReplyDeleteI personally love awkward topics. The things that people are afraid to talk about are usually the most interesting ones. You can go on and on talking about these things because you have spent so much time just THINKING them in your head. And finally being able to voice your opinion on the matter? That's always fun! By the way, I love the picture you posted haha there's a book in Urban Outfitters titled "Awkward Family Photos," I'm sure this thing is in it!
ReplyDeleteYeah parents should definitely not rely on schools to teach their kids about sex. From what I've learned most kids become curious about it in second and third grade. Well in those grades they don't really say what it is. It is an awkward topic which is why kids seek outside sources, but like you said, you can the wrong information. I don't think that conversation should be avoided because the topic is awkward but i do believe that there is a time for everything.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all love the picture, you should check out "Awkward Family Photos" it is hilarious. Awkward topics and situations can bring people together can most see that we are all awkward and then we can open up. Maybe that is why families take awkward family photos; be become closer as a family. Speaking of family, I ultimately think that it is the parents job to educate and inform their child about sex. Parents try to avoid this because it is awkward but maybe because by doing so the child losses a sort of innocence. However, It is more important to know the facts rather than try to battle confusion. It is awkward and every person, child and parents alike, try to avoid "the talk" but it is better to learn there, than learning at some confusing school lecture.
ReplyDeleteIt's never an easy thing for parents to talk to their child about sex, mostly because of the fact that they don't want to think of their child having sex. So they put the illusion in their head that if they postpone the topic, they'll postpone the sex. Or perhaps they remember the look on their parent's faces when they were caught. Whatever the case may be, parents need to get over their fears and just talk with them. Like Emily said, schools need to teach dangers and parents teach morals.
ReplyDeleteI’m all for being open. I tell too many people too much about my life to be honest. I don’t regret being so open with so many people though. I think that it really does bring us closer together and often addresses very important situations. I can’t stand when people ignore talking about something because it’s awkward. Sometimes it’s a confrontation they don’t want to make or simply a topic that’s uncomfortable—either way I think it should be talked about.
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't think that any topic should be awkward to talk about if you are talking to someone you know and trust. It is only awkward if you make it awkward. I have one of the best relationships father-son relationships with my dad that i've ever seen, so needless to say we can talk about anything. Absolutely anything goes. He is a very straight forward person, as am I. So throughout my childhood if i had a question about something i got the real answer and not the BS make believe answer that parents usually come up with. I don't believe that anything should be awkward, like i said "it is only awkward if you make it awkward." So be up-front and straight forward with people. You'll waste a lot less time in life, and time is the only thing you can't get more of in this life.
ReplyDeleteFirst, that picture is hilarious. Second, I completley agree that awkward things should be talked about. It does bring people closer together. I'm not saying that you should go up to a stranger and ask them about their sex life, but talking to a classmate or friend is not a bad thing. I honestly think that we can all learn something if we just talk about things, even awkward things. Also, parents should talk to their kids about sex and babies instead of hoping the school will. When I was little my parents didnt tell me that a bird brought me to them or any of that crap. But they also didnt tell me the full truth. All they said was "when a mommy and a daddy love each other they pray to God that they can have a healthy child." I agree that this statement is true. But they never told me about sex. And my school never really told the truth about it bluntly until sophomore year. SOPHOMORE YEAR!!!! There are kids out there having sex in MIDDLE SCHOOL! Why did someone wait until I was 15 to tell me about sex? Honestly i learned more from my friends than anyone else, which is ridiculous. I dont think parents should talk about sex when their child is 3 years old, but once they are at an age when sex is a common topic with friends i think parents should talk about it. No one wants to have a child that has a kid at 16. So, talk about sex! and now that obama is making birth control free i think teenage girls should take it. or use a condom. its just the smart thing to do.
ReplyDeletei think parents shouldn't rely on schools for this talk. The school should still talk about so kids can learn in a smart way about sex. But parent need to talk to their kid. They should describe what it is so the kid is not confused and hears it from someone they are close to rather than what could be a random person. It will be a little awkward but it is worth it. They will be educated about it.
ReplyDeleteAs Scrubs taught me, the dirtiest part of sex is its not dirty at all. It just depends how you view it. If you think its something to remain hidden and un spoken, it will seem dirty. But, the way I see it, it something beautiful that two people who love eachother cam share to express their feelings. How should something so beautiful and passionate be ignored? I think parents have a duty to tell their kids what it is, but also put it in perspective. They should give the context of love and beauty so that it's not something dirty or degrading, but beautiful and romantic. Yah know, make shit special ... or not, random anonymous sex is cool too lol
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