For Isabella Dollar, sex is something that her parents have always been extremely open about with her.

“My parents and I have always been extremely close, and sex is something that they were always open to talking about with me,” Dollar said.

As a result of Dollar’s parents being so open about sex, once she is ready to have sex she will be comfortable enough to tell her parents about it.

“I think definitely since we have a closer bond and I talk to them about everything going on in my life, it will be easy to talk about my first time, when that time comes,” Dollar said.

Other students, like Rylee Mitchell, aren’t as familiar with the topic of sex being so open at home and instead it is portrayed as a big, scary thing.

“My parents have never made me feel like I should go and talk to them about that type of stuff. I wish they were; I feel like they would understand me more and our relationship would be even better,” Mitchell said.

Some parents, like Mitchell’s, choose not teach their teenagers much about sex, so the teen is left to try to figure it out themselves.

There are parents who have become so wrapped up in the idea of innocence being more important than maturing. If parents would make sex more open to their kids, it might not become a topic to be shameful or self-conscious about.

“If my parents would talk to me about how having sex is okay, I would feel like going to them is okay. Instead I hide the truth from them and feel ashamed,” Mitchell said.

Contrary to the positives of sex, there can be negative consequences such as STD’s, unwanted pregnancies, etc. However, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention encourages schools and other youth-serving organizations to help reduce sexual risk behaviors and related health problems among youth. From people talking about teen sex like it is a healthy and not shameful thing studies have shown that teens adopt lifelong attitudes and behaviors that will help reduce their risk for HIV, other STDs, and unintentional teen pregnancy.

“In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. This is another record low for U.S. teens and a drop of 8 percent from 2014. Birth rates fell 9 percent for women aged 15–17 years and 7% for women aged 18–19 years,” CDC said.

To show how sex is something that teens should experience when they feel comfortable and ready, Bobbilyn Westbrook, a mother, shares her opinion.

“The way I see it, it’s their body, therefore it’s their choice. If the teen feels comfortable and ready to have sex, then who am I to say they can’t. I believe if you make your child feel comfortable coming to you about this type of stuff then they will,” Westbrook said.

Westbrook goes more into detail about how parents and society shouldn’t shame teens for having sex.

Westbrook said, “If we shame our kids for having sex then they’ll feel as if it’s something that is wrong, when in reality it’s not. Your child is eventually going to have sex whether that’s now or later, and they should feel like coming to you to not only ask questions, but just to share their concerns is okay.”

by JADEA TISDALE