Lifestyle » Connect with Kids

More Condoms, Less Sex
July 8, 2010 Updated Jul 8, 2010 at 4:03 PM EDT

It seems year by year, we get more troubling news about kids. recent studies have shown that more teens today suffer from depression, more are using methamphetamines and prescription medications to get high, and more than ever are overweight or obese. But, according to a new report, there is some good news. The latest federal survey reports that more teens are saying "no" to sex. In fact, 53 percent of high schoolers report remaining abstinent, up from 46 percent in 1991. Dr. Laura Kann, with the Centers for Disease Control, says "The rates of ever having sexual intercourse are decreasing. And at the same time, the percentage of kids who are sexually active and using condoms at last intercourse is increasing. So it means that we not only have less kids at risk because they're not having sex in the first place, but among those kids who are having sex, more of them are protected." But while this news is good, experts say, there are still many teens having unprotected sex. That's why parents need to keep talking. Dr. Mark Schuster, a Pediatrician, adds that "Parents who talk to their kids about sex, and families where kids understand their parents attitudes about sex, are less likely to have sex, and, if they do have sex, more likely to use contraception."
According to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, ninety percent of adolescents believe teenagers have sex before they are ready.

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