What is the earliest age you would buy condoms for your son?

[Anonymous]

He is 14 and has had a girlfriend for a year already?? No. I would just say you aren’t old enough to date. I mean, neither of them can even drive. When/where are they going to have sex? But I suppose too late for that. He needs responsible for getting his own condoms. He should also be asking his girlfriend what she is doing for contraception and have that conversation with her.

[Anonymous]

Far more important that they are somewhere he knows he can get them easily then to make him have some ridiculous "rite of passage" to buy at CVS or whatever. Better safe than sorry!

We always made sure our teens knew there was a box in the linen closet. No questions asked.

[Anonymous]

Never. I will teach about safe sex. But, I will not provide contraceptives. I do not condone sex out of wedlock.

[Anonymous]

Please, they can get them in any high school nurses office.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never. I will teach about safe sex. But, I will not provide contraceptives. I do not condone sex out of wedlock.

*Puke*

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS has been dating a girl for almost a year. I know they are considering it. I have been advising against it happening yet, and I have been thwarting opportunity, but I am a realist.

Ummm...this was me when I was 15. Unfortunately, I had already been having sex for a good 6 months with the guy I had been dating for a year, and we kept telling our parents were hadn't done it yet. We lied even though my mom was wonderful and open to all of these discussions and would have told me she thinks I should wait but would have bought me condoms, etc. Long story short...we had an abortion at 16. I still to this day think about it every day and wish I didn't terminate because I have no kids now at 41. So, yes, buy condoms like yesterday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is there some reason your kid can’t walk into CVS and buy his own?

Kids are lazy when it comes to stuff they either don't want to, plus their impulse control is awful, so why risk it, have it there for them. Example....I asked my 13 year old to plan her own stuff around dance class...I get this...

MOM, do you know how busy my life is...I have like no time. How am I going to do my homework and still have the important downtime I need to recharge my brain if you expect me to do all of this on my own.

Sigh...so much drama and angst that I can't help but laugh. So, yeah, I will be making sure her "lack of time" is not the reason she gets pregnant. Luckily, she still thinks boys are pretty gross, but I know I don't have too much time left!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here, answering the question: Is there some reason your kid can’t walk into CVS and buy his own?

Yes. He's 14. GF is 15.

So? If he's too damn embarrassed, that is further proof that he is too young for a girlfriend.

P.S. 14 is too young for a girlfriend anyway.

So, what is your answer. She locks him up and throws away the key? Tells him he can't have a GF? Please...I bet your kids tell you everything, huh?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He is 14 and has had a girlfriend for a year already?? No. I would just say you aren’t old enough to date. I mean, neither of them can even drive. When/where are they going to have sex? But I suppose too late for that. He needs responsible for getting his own condoms. He should also be asking his girlfriend what she is doing for contraception and have that conversation with her.

OMG...you parents are so ignorant. You all sound just like my parents.. I had a BF at 16, my parents never let me go out with him, we always had to be at our house. I had to leave the basement door open and Dad would come down randomly, oh and no guys after 9:00 pm even on weekends. We had sex in the basement every time for a year...they thought I was a virgin. LOL. Luckily, his parents had the talk and he wore condoms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You do realize that condoms basically ensure they will get pregnant, right?

Ensure? No.

Birth control availability + good sex ed = lower rates of pregnancy.

Nope. Unplanned pregnancy rate has increased with availing of birth control and sex ed. Meanwhile, condom actual use fail rate staggered high, higher among teens.

https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/index.htm

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1070796/

I don’t see where those links say that condom access causes increases teen pregnancies, much less ensures it.

If anybody wants to see a different perspective: https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/6813/9611/7632/Reducing_Teen_Pregnancy.pdf

That's because they don't. Of course "unplanned" pregnancy rates went up, it's because we are not in 1950 anymore where at 18 it was more normal for folks to start families early. Times a changin. I know for some, the 50s still are the good ole days.

Look folks, teenagers have sex. Condoms are the only way to HELP prevent STDs. PERIOD. Is it full proof, no, but sex is risky, so use a CONDOM! This will not change. Kids will not stop having sex. So, is the answer to not use condoms. Please, stop posting. It's actually scary that you keep spewing this shit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Far more important that they are somewhere he knows he can get them easily then to make him have some ridiculous "rite of passage" to buy at CVS or whatever. Better safe than sorry!

We always made sure our teens knew there was a box in the linen closet. No questions asked.

THIS IS SO SPOT ON. To the others who just think you should leave it up to a KID.... you are going help support the baby because your son and his gf were too impulsive to get a condom, right? Is that right passage really worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - a sincere and heartfelt thank you to whoever wrote "The problem is that OP is trying as hard as she can to get her son to understand that he shouldn’t be having sex this young, but it looks like he’s just going to do it anyway." That is exactly the case.

I have no desire to break them up. She is an admirable girl, and they have a healthy relationship. (Most importantly - neither is the boss.) It is in face very likely that they won't have sex anytime soon because she is levelheaded. But my son is most certainly a romantic who sincerely believes himself ready for many adult things. (He'd like to vote and drive as well!) Of course I know that this very delusion proves that he's immature. This situation shouldn't be happening, But it is. So what would you do?

14 is young even for dating, much less a serious relationship.

You didn’t date as a HS freshman?

Nope

Interesting. My Gen X peers and I had Gf/Bf relationships then.

14 is young poster-- you are the weird one.

WTF...14 is not young for a GF or BF. I am in high school and most have them at this age...they just don't tell their parent, duh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS has been dating a girl for almost a year. I know they are considering it. I have been advising against it happening yet, and I have been thwarting opportunity, but I am a realist.

Ummm...this was me when I was 15. Unfortunately, I had already been having sex for a good 6 months with the guy I had been dating for a year, and we kept telling our parents were hadn't done it yet. We lied even though my mom was wonderful and open to all of these discussions and would have told me she thinks I should wait but would have bought me condoms, etc. Long story short...we had an abortion at 16. I still to this day think about it every day and wish I didn't terminate because I have no kids now at 41. So, yes, buy condoms like yesterday.

I wasn’t even allowied to date at 15. That’s the first thing your parents did wrong.

[Anonymous]

Here's the thing, teenagers are going to have sex whether you want them to or not. As the parent, I want my teens to wait until they're ready and to be safe and not get pregnant. I'm going to have to focus on the things I can control in this situation.

Learning about and having access to birth control and safe sex does NOT increase teen pregnancy or teen sex initiation. Access to birth control reduces teen pregnancy and condoms reduce incidence of STIs.

[Anonymous]

When my brother was a freshman in high school, he got has girl friend pregnant. [She was a junior.]
She had an abortion and there was a lot of family stress. My parents were not the type to leave a box of condoms available - nor have real talks. There was only 1 talk - not until marriage.

I know Burke is progressive - but as a homework assignment the students are required to buy a box of condoms and bring them to the teacher with the receipt. The discussion is - if you are not ready to buy condoms, you are not ready to have sex.