We parents need to do a better job of educating our adolescents about sex. The countries with low rates of teen pregnancy and low rates of STDs deal with sex more openly. It is not uncommon for adolescents to talk frankly and frequently about sex with their families and in schools. It's ironic that these more open societies have fewer problems associated with adolescent sexual activity, because much parental resistance to sex education in the United States is predicated on the notion that it will lead to more teen sex. American parents fear that if teachers talk to teens about sex in a classroom, the information will somehow trigger their interest in it--as if teens have not heard of sex before taking a health class on it.
