Parental communication

There is one thing that is often talked about which makes me angry.

The relationship and communication between parents and their children (usually teenagers).

The cries on the prolife/conservative side often ring to the turn of "government is taking away my right to parent how I want!" or "they're teaching my kids things I don't agree!" or "They're letting my kid do stuff without my consent!"

I have just one thing to say to these parents: If you have a good relationship with your child, none of those things would effect that.

The fact that they are SO worried about public education and the government leads me to think they don't have a good relationship with their children. Instead of a loving, two way relationship, the parents want to control every aspect of their child's life. It's along the lines of "I speak, you listen, and it doesn't matter what you think or feel."

It's depressing.

Families are supposed to be the base unit (no matter who they're made up of). Parents and children are supposed to have very, very strong bonds. And yet, we can see that some parents don't have that bond with their children.


Now, I wasn't best friends with my mother. I didn't tell her every thing I did. But she knew anyway. She knew a general idea of what I was up to, who I was with, what I liked, what my goals were. We most certainly had disagreements. But she never forced her opinion on me. I was taught to think for myself and make good decisions.

Parents need to remember that children are PEOPLE and not robots. At some point, we'll leave the home nest- and if you haven't taught your kids to think for themselves, they're going to fail in life.


If you teach your child to be a self-thinker and they disagree with your opinions, don't become angry. Consider, instead, why they disagree. Consider their viewpoint. Consider their life experiences. Perhaps it's just a phase, and they'll grow out of it. But perhaps, just perhaps, you'll see the issue in a new light, and decide your previous opinion was wrong. That's perfectly okay.




So if you're honestly worried about public education teaching your kids something you don't agree with, or the government controlling your child-parent relationship, think about how you raised your kids. Are your children self-thinkers, or are they puppets which mime whatever they hear? Are your beliefs founded in logic, or are you too parroting what someone else told you? If your child is a self-thinker it doesn't matter what the teachers at school or the senators on the TV say- she'll make the right decisions.

If you're really prolife... SexEd

If you're really prolife, you want to end/reduce abortion right?

And if you're really prolife because you want to save babies, you'd believe that reducing elective abortions is, at the very least, a step in the right direction- correct?


So why is it then that most prolifers are against multiple different ways to reduce the abortion rate? Is it, perhaps, because they do not actually care for the fetus? I pray that is not true.


Today we will look at comprehensive sex education, which prolifers are often against.

1. Comprehensive Sex Education. This one is a no brainer! Teenagers are having sex. Young 20somethings are having sex. If they're having sex, they are risking pregnancy. If they get pregnant, many will choose abortion. So how do you stop those abortions? Prevent the pregnancy before it happens!

There seems to be a misunderstanding, that comprehensive sex ed is just "throwing condoms at teenagers." Absolutely not. I don't even think actively handing out condoms should be part of comprehensive sex ed. It's EDUCATION, not a store or a giveaway.

Comprehensive sex education is about teaching kids about: abstinence, sexual intercourse, STDs, pregnancy, adoption, parenting, abortion, rape, how to say no, respect for the opposite gender/other people, the benefits risks of different types of sexual encounters (committed relationships, one night stands, drunk sex), puberty, menopause, periods, contraceptives, gender roles, and SO much more.

Comprehensive sex education does NOT stop parents from controlling their children's education. Most sex ed classes allow parents to choose to pull their child from the class, if that parent so chooses. Parents who wish to teach their children at home about sex are still perfectly capable of doing so. But students who's parents don't care, are misinformed or non-participants in the student's life will be able to learn what ever human being deserves to know.



Studies have shown over and over that comprehensive sex ed helps to reduce unplanned pregnancies. Studies have shown time and time again that abstinence-only education does not stop teenagers from having sex- it just stops them from using contraceptives. New research has shown that in more conservative religious states, there is a higher rate of teen pregnancy (even after adjusting for abortion rates). Conservative religious states are where abstinence-only is taught and pushed more by the community.




It is only when we are fully informed with facts and not lied to that we can make the best decisions for ourselves and our families and our lives.

It is morally repulsive for anyone to lie to people, but it is especially repulsive when an educator lies to a student. Educators should be trusted to tell the truth. We shouldn't even worry about educators lying- and yet we have to, when it comes to abstinence only education.

Over and over and over we have seen that abstinence-only education programs lie to and deceive our youth.

Everyone learns as a child that it is wrong to lie, and this is especially true for Christians. We should never lie to push an agenda. If we do not have the truth on our side, we should question why we are promoting the things we are saying. We should always strive to tell the truth.


Government funding of ineffective, lying abstinence-only programs should be dropped. Comprehensive sex education is how we will share the truth with our future generations, and greatly reduce the number of unwanted and unplanned pregnancies.