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The Birds and the bees

A new study from StatsCan indicates that the number of teens (15- to 19-year-olds) reporting having sex is on the decline, particularly amond teen girls. Notice how I emphasized that word "reporting"? That's because unlike most of the major news media, I do not believe that the rise in popularity of chaste popstars like The Jonas Brothers is the reason is the cause for this decrease. Sure, teens might not be talking about having sex, but that doesn't mean they're not having any.

Teenagers are horny. They're built that way. If you think your teenaged son or daughter doesn't think about it several dozen times each day, you are either incredibly naive or raising a eunuch. If they're not having sex already, it's likely because the opportunity just hasn't presented itself yet. (Trust me. I didn't go on a date until I was 21 years old, and it wasn't because I was waiting for "the one"--I was just that big of a dork in high school.)

Your teenager probably isn't going to talk to you about what he or she gets up to when not under your watchful eye. They're probably also not going to talk to you about how they define "sex". A lot of them follow the Bill Clinton school of thought there. These are topics they probably aren't going to bring up with nosey government statisticians, either.

So, Canada, what am I driving at here exactly? Basically, just like you don't believe your teenager when they tell you Sally's mom will be chaperoning the party, don't believe the government when they tell you your teenager isn't having sex. Don't take it as a sign that you can postpone having "the talk". Don't start thinking that it's time to take the condom machines out of the school bathrooms. And don't think you raised your son or daughter better than that. Because some day your kid is going to have sex, even if it's not until they're 21, and they're going to need to know what to do and how to do it safely.