Last week iTeen reporter Brittany Jackson used the movie “The Pregnancy Pact” as a pivot point for pitching the need for parents and teens to have the sex talk. The movie is based on the true story of 17 teenagers (all around the age of fifteen) who made a pact to get pregnant at the same time because they all thought it would be cool to have a baby that would love them unconditionally. Not cool, says Brittany, who uses this week’s column to explore ways parents and teens can get started with that much-needed conversation.

Brittany Jackson

Parents and guardians, it is not always good to just come right out and say, “Are you having sex?”

Why?  Because the question makes many teens feel uncomfortable. They just may shut down before the conversation has a chance to get off the ground.

I’m on the record saying that I feel as though the information should be provided to teens along with the items necessary to protect themselves. Now I know some parents find it hard to accept that their child may already have had sex – or soon will have the experience. But once again, it is better to be safe and prepared than to be too late.

My mom and I had “the talk” and it was very uncomfortable. The main reason was probably because she asked questions such as this: “Why do you want to do it?” “Who will you do it with?”

From our talk, I came away reinforced about the need to “think” before coming sexually active, because once it’s done it cannot be undone.

My mom once told me to wait until marriage.  But seriously, that’s becoming more and more rare. Besides, as high as the divorce rate is today, “marriage” doesn’t even have the same meaning to people as it did decades ago.

I have to say that while the “talk” with my mom was uncomfortable for me, I’m glad we had it. I appreciate her caring.

Still, I’m convinced that with teens, a parent would get more accomplished with “the talk” if they did not ask questions and just provided information and the means for protection.