Dear Editor:

232,215 that’s a big number right? 232,215 is the number of babies born in 2015 to girls

below 20 years old, 2,500 of those babies were to children under 15 years of age. I don’t know

about you but when I was fifteen I could barely take care of myself let alone a whole other

human; and not to mention the fact that in most places you can’t even work until the age of 16. I

know thirteen year olds who aren’t even allowed to stay home alone for more than an hour, so

how is that they are able to raise a child? Exactly they should not, which is why I believe we

need to face the fact the world has changed, it is now the “social norm” for a 10 year old to have

an Iphone. This leads to the younger population going on social media being exposed to the

media and all that it influences, nudity, sex, vulgar music, reality TV, and much more. Pre-teen

and teenage years are the most influential, they haven’t figured themselves out yet, so most are

just struggling to fit in, and willing to do whatever it takes to do so. This is why I believe schools

should introduce the subject of sex ed in a health class between 4-6th grade when that are at the

ages of 10-12.

There is no doubt that kids are going to do what they want, but maybe we can help them

be smarter about what they are doing. A 2017 survey found that one in ten high school students

did not use a contraceptive method among them the junior high students which one in five did

not use a contraceptive method. In most schools the sex education topic is not introduced until 8th

grade health class; the class promotes abstinence until marriage and show a few pictures of

STI’s. Meanwhile, STI’s are roaming around in the hallways and there are students walking in

pregnant. This is due to lack of education and accessibility. Imagine if kids were taught safe sex

and knew that without parents’ permission or awareness they can be given birth control before

the age of 18. There are programs such as Adagio Health that provide these resources and have
people who go out to school to promote a program they have “Care for Teens” where they

discuss safe sex, reproductive health, and healthy relationships. Their services are confidential

and you do not need insurance for an appointment they offer gynecological care, birth control,

pregnancy testing, and STI screening for boys and girls.

The point is kids are kids, we need to help them if we want to fix the problem. We need

to be realistic about adolescent sex, it is happening and kids are getting pregnant at ages as young

as 13 years old leaving them scared and alone because they didn’t know what they were getting

themselves into due to no education on the subject. Its time we step up and help the kids before

they end up with one of their own.

 RESOURCES

Care for Teens. (2018) Retrieved November, 10 2018, from http://adagiohealth.org/care-

for-teens

Sexual Behavior and Contraceptive and Condom Use Among U.S. High School Students,

2013-2017. (2018, September 21). Retrieved from

http://www.guttmacher.org/report/sexual-behavior-contraceptive-condom-use-us-

high-school-students-2013-2017