h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It shouldn't be about sex or virginity, but about what is right for each individual.

If you feel at all pressured or have any doubts - DON'T!

On the other hand, if you feel the person and time are right - go for it. But be prepared to live with the consequences if things go wrong.

Encourage teenagers to have the self-confidence to say no, the courage make their own decisions and the maturity to accept that there will always be consequences.

By 'if things go wrong'Do mean std's or pregnancy?Because if that was ever a doubt in the mind of either party then you just should'nt do it.However there is a limit i.e below 16 -how many adolescents and pubescents have the maturity to deal with the outcomes ,be it physical or emotional.It will either leave the person or persons put off for ages(the unlikely option) or encourage them to have as many 'one-night stands' as possible.Morally this will corrupt the fabric of society [it has already done that in many areas]Mentally it will become dull and the phrase :knackered springs to mind.
This leads toother consequences- that person wont be able to talk about anything else;he(sadly but inevitabley) will bore all the other people around him and it will grate.so this person will go off and become Peter Stringfellow.
Alright perhaps i exagerated that last sentance.
the bos

I don't think it's so much that teens are incapable of dealing with the consequences. I think it is society that can't handle the thought of teens with those problems. Obviously, AIDS is an exception here. I don't think *anyone* can be called 'prepared' for AIDS.

Here's an anecdote for you. I knew one teen couple where the girl got pregnant despite condom use. She was able to finish high school, just barely, before giving birth. He quit school and took a full-time job, and was luckily smart enough to get his GED (the technical equivalent of a high school diploma in the US). At the age of 18, the couple got married and began a very difficult begining to their life. The adults in the area turned them into pariahs for their trouble, but they kept doing the best they could.

Unfortunately, neither of them was able to progress to college like many of their peers. But over ten years later, one does have a college degree and they are doing just fine with two children.

But let's think about this. We know the hormones kick in earlier than 16 for most teens. We know that, historically, marriage at the age of 14 wasn't that unusual until recently. But in America, it is supposed to be illegal to work full-time until the age of 16. And current demands for college degrees mean you have to wait until at least 22 to settle down if you want a really healthy financial future.

How did we come to be this far off the biological mark? We're incredibly out of touch with the needs and feelings of our teenagers. We've removed the support network for young people needing to start off in a trade that doesn't require extended years of formal education. And what have we replaced it with? Conversations about what *adults* should do to increase abstinence. Sheesh!

Innit amazing what happens when a holier-than-thou attitude confronts a reality that nobody's willing to deal with?
Anything made illegal in order to protect teens will only protect the ones that honour the law; all teens can find a way of getting what they want if it's important enough to them....especially if they're doing it to be 'individual' or piss off their parents.

Give teens as much information as they can handle, teach them to like their bodies as they are, provide an environment that allows them to experiment in safety (yes, that means alcohol and pot; I draw the line at cigarettes) so that they can get the questions answered to THEIR satisfaction, not ours. Teens are intelligent people; they're just inexperienced, ignorant and often naive...and they're going to do this anyway; we might as well allow them the space to do so openly.

Fruitbat