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Sexual health Talking with kids

Words Can Work offers these facts to remind families of the importance of talking about the value of delaying sexual intercourse, and what precautions to take if you do have sex.

• Most health educators in secondary schools want additional training in how to teach prevention of pregnancy, STDs, and HIV. ¹

• Although nearly 100 percent of teachers believe that students should be taught about contraception, (and half believe that contraception should be taught in grade seven or earlier), one in four are instructed not to teach the subject. ²

• Latex condoms, used consistently and correctly, are highly effective in preventing the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. ¹

• One-third of parents who say that adolescents should be told "only to have sex when they are married," 71 percent also say that schools should teach adolescents how to use condoms. ³

• Three in four parents believe that these topics should be "discussed in a way that provides a fair and balanced presentation of the facts and different views in society." ³

• Thirty percent of teenage males do not receive any sexuality education prior to first intercourse, with the rate as high as 45 percent for black teenage males. ²

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