Monday, November 3, 2008

Monkey see...

... monkey do:
New research suggests that teens who spend the most time watching sexually charged television shows are twice as likely to become pregnant or impregnate someone else.

The findings, reported in the November issue ofPediatrics, don't prove that sexy programming leads directly to pregnancy.

Still, parents should pay close attention to what their kids watch, said study author Anita Chandra, a researcher with Rand Corp.

"Not a lot of content on TV talks about the potential negative consequences of sex," Chandra said. "Characters engage in sexual talk or activity, give positive attributes to sex, and there's little discussion about the risks and contraceptive use."

As a result, she said, kids might become interested in sex without realizing the potential pitfalls.
Really? Is this really all that new of information?

My wife and I were watching a documentary the other night on TLC about Purity Balls, prom-like events that fathers attend with their pre-/early-teen daughters who vow to a chaste life, including - for some - not kissing until the wedding day. A woman made a comment during an interview to the effect of "these [commitments] are important even more so in today's culture because sex is so much more 'out there'."

Q's for you's:
--Do you think that premarital and/or teenage sex is more prevalent now than during your school days? Your parent's school days?
--Do you plan to do one of these purity balls with your daughter? Why/why not?
--Should purity ball's be held for boys also?

2 comments:

Craig said...

I read this research earlier and I didn't find it surprising at all.

- I think that premarital sex is more accepted, but not necessarily more dominant now. I think people were a bit more private.

- I don't think I would participate in a purity ball, but I will raise them my (future) children the best of my ability and emphasize purity and waiting till marriage. Kissing would be ok after a certain age... maybe not make-out sessions.

- Boys seem to be treated differently. Boys also feel more peer pressure. Teach them to respect women and God's plan for marriage, if someone wants to do the purity balls that is fine, but not for me.

Timm said...

As a father of three beautiful little girls, this topic hits particularly close to home for me. My wife and I were just discussing it yesterday, in fact. We tossed around the idea of asking them to do something like this. I would say the best thing I can do right now is to raise them to be God fearing young women. The root cause of all of this is most likely the moral decay we are seeing in our country every day.