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Papa Don't Preach

© Teresa Brouwer

Madonna sang it and society booed it. In her song "Papa Don't Preach," some people believed that Madonna was condoning teenage pregnancy. In my opinion, she was sending out a message to teenage girls and parents that they should come together in a time like this.

Through my research with teen pregnancy and adolescent girls, I am always dumbfounded about how parents are still in denial about teen sex. It seems that if they ignore it, then it will go away, but that is not the case. Teens are having sex and girls are getting pregnant.

The more a parent says no, the more the teen wants it. It is the rebellious trait that parents seem to forget about. Sex is the number one taboo to mankind and therefore, parents are not apt to having an "open communication" about sex. Am I saying to let our children have sex? Absolutely not. What I am saying is that we should be more open to discussion. We should teach our children about the different aspects of sex: love, pleasure, and masturbation. We should educate our kids about birth control and responsibility. We should educate our kids about STDs, AIDS, and HIV. We should teach our children about healthy relationships and abuse.

If your child comes home and says, "Mom and Dad, I'm pregnant," what will you say? Preaching is the last thing your daughter wants to hear. She knows that her social life is over, she knows that her future and college plans are put on hold, she knows the financial downfalls that are ahead of her, and she knows that the baby's father will eventually leave and end up with another girl, only to leave your daughter fighting for child support.

In fact, the more we push our children away when they come home pregnant, the more we are pushing them into a line of fire.

National Statistics states:

26% of pregnant teens reported being physically abused by their boyfriends. About half of them said the battering began or intensified after he learned of her pregnancy. In addition, One in five female high school students report being physically or sexually abused by a dating partner.

Today our kids now have "Friends with Benefits." How many parents know about this? They will perform oral sex, foreplay and still remain friends. They are not considered "boyfriend and girlfriend" but "Friends with Benefits." No attachment, but just pure pleasure. This research came from Good Morning America.