Would You Let Your Teen Have Sex in Your Home?
Ah, summer, when heat, hormones and boredom lead to bad decisions. This month, four teens were arrested on charges of sex on a beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The sun was out and the beach was filled with families not expecting, um, that kind. According to news reports, onlookers called the exhibit “disgusting . “
But after hearing this story, some parents of teenagers wondered: what if these young men and women just didn’t have a reasonable place to do?
On her parent blog, Raising Teens, Cindy Goodman writes that she thinks there is a reason for allowing teens to have sex in their own bedrooms . If they are already sexually active – and whether you like it or not, 41% of schoolchildren in the US reported having had intercourse in 2015 – Goodman suggests that giving them a safe place could prevent them from slipping to the beaches. , parks and who else knows where.
She writes:
A few years ago, I walked into a club next door and found a couple of teenagers having sex on the couch. At the time, I thought, “At least they are inside, where they are somewhat safe!”
I hate the idea of my kids having sex in random public places like beaches or parks, but I’m a realist that this behavior is common among teenagers.
Making the home accessible for your teen to have sex would require talking about it, which can be uncomfortable, but it’s important that parents talk to their kids about sex regularly, whether they’re young and just starting to talk, or if they are already going through puberty . As for how this will work with logistics – I’m not entirely sure. You stand next to a family calendar with a dry erase marker and ask, “Honey, would you like to have sex on Wednesday or Thursday at 4:30?” Then I can run on business. ” Who knows? It might just kill the mood for another couple of years.