Humpday, Mar. 3, 2010

A few tidbits to get us through the week …

Teens + Sex = Pregnancy.

My boys are two and five years old. Teen sex is not something we discuss, not yet.

My great hope though, is to raise boys who will wait to have sex until they are married.

There. I said it.

Not for social or religious reasons, and not only to avoid the consequences of unplanned pregnancy

You know, the adolescent male sexual urge is one of the greatest known forces of human nature. Stronger than hunger. Greater than thirst. It trumps fear and drowns out reason.

And I think (and my boys will hear me say this many times in their young lives) if as young men they can overcome that urge, if they can dig deep inside and develop the discipline to temper that desire – if they can learn to exercise that kind of control, then they can do anything. Don’t you think?

• Teen pregnancy rate up again by 3% – Here’s a snapshot of teen pregnancy nationwide, with some discussion as to why it’s on the increase.

• ‘Sex education at 12’ call to cut teen pregnancy – “Cheerio, good fellows, I say we teach the bloody rascals before they’re teens.” Here’s an intersting look at the teen pregnancy in the U.K., and one group that suggests they start Sex Ed at 12 years old.

• Teen pregnancy perfectly natural, says Hilary Mantel – Also across the pond, but on the other side of the debate, prizewinning novelist Hilary Mantel advocates teen pregnancy and says she would have had a baby at age 14, if society was more friendly to women.

Enjoy the jumps! Come back and see us when you can.

Humpday, Feb. 17, 2010

A few tidbits to get us through the week …

Over the past year or so, while making a run to, say, the hardware store (as we dads do,) or during my daily commute, I’ve heard some superb, family-focused programs on National Public Radio.

The links this week are podcasts of some of them. Simply click the “Listen to the Story” link for each podcast. Whether you listen at home or work, I hope you find them as insightful as I have.

• 20 Years Of Defending Death Row Inmates – Imagine what is would be like to spend all day visiting death row, and then come home, still with the smell on you, and kiss your wife and kids. You’d be living the life of Attorney David Dow, who has made a career out of defending death row inmates. I, like most fathers will, find his story incredibly hard to relate to, with one exception: an underlying theme of how troubles of a man’s work often lingers into the home, affecting everyone.

• Parenting In The Age Of ‘Gossip Girl’ – How about a good, wholesome family talk about menage-a-trois. That’s right, sex – specifically threesomes. Lucky for me, my kids are not teens yet – but at this rate, as this story illustrates, it might not be too long before sex talk comes up during out dinner discussions.

• Parenting Tips: Praise Can Be Bad; Lying Is Normal – I can’t help but rethink my whole approach after hearing this one. The headline really sums it up. But to elaborate without giving away the kicker, it turns out most of what we’ve been doing to curb our kids’ lying is actually making them more skilled and frequent liars.

Enjoy the jumps. Come back and see us when you can …