Parenting

Friday, December 11, 2009

What I Want My Daughter to Know about Bristol Palin

It isn't really about sex

-AnonyBetty, BettyConfidential.com

As news of Bristol Palin's breakup with fiancé Levi Johnston fans the flames of the never-ending debate about sex education, my thoughts keep turning to Sarah. I wonder if she wishes she could go back and do things differently. Would she offer something in addition to abstinence education? Will she change what she says to Willow and Piper?

As a mother, I think about what I will tell my young daughter about the millions of teenagers like Bristol Palin who get pregnant before they're ready. What will I be able to say to prevent her from joining the statistics?

And when I start imagining "the talk" we'll have, I realize that very little of it will actually have to do with sex. It will be more about the need for self confidence, an inner strength and the ability to say no to things she isn't ready to do, to not want to please someone so badly that she'll do something she knows is risky to earn or keep their love - whether that's to have unsafe sex, to take drugs or to stay with someone who demeans or abuses her.

To read more about the insight Bristol Palin's situation brought into this mother's life, click here.

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