Heck ya! No brainer - learned it from friends whose kids have already gone off. Plan B is a great idea too - I can't remember it's status - can we get OTC?

Anonymous wrote:Why would you pack anything for a college kid? They are adults, for heaven's sake.

/Mom of four adult kids.

+1000

If you do, just learn from my coworker's mistake... do NOT under any circumstance look to see how many have been used if you buy the big box from Costco.

She sent him off to college last fall with a big box from Costco (100 pack). While helping him put away stuff in his dorm after the Christmas break, she "noticed" the box and how it was gone except for a handful. He told her he'd been giving them away to his buds on the floor who needed them and hadn't actually used that many. She now still secretly believes she raised a man-whore.

She just kept saying, "they were good through 2020! I bought that many to last years! They should have lasted years!"

Dental dams as well as condoms. Oral sex is common.

Anonymous wrote:Does your regular OB-GYN see teenagers? I want to bring my teen for a visit to talk about birth control, but I don't know if its better to see the pediatrician or the OB-GYN. She's 17.

You can ask your Ped for a referral. Ours will allow teens to be patients through their 19th year at the practice, but they like to start phasing them out to an adult PCP between 17 and 18. Our Ped actually brought up DD seeing the OB-GYN for the first time at 14. DD was very much against it at the time, so Ped relaxed on the topic and said we had time. She brought it up again at 15 and DD was the same. Brought it up again at 16 and DD was more receptive, especially after hearing from friends who went that she didn't have to get a pelvic exam. She went for the first time at almost 17. Before then her Ped handled her birth control for heavy periods.

Anonymous wrote:Does your regular OB-GYN see teenagers? I want to bring my teen for a visit to talk about birth control, but I don't know if its better to see the pediatrician or the OB-GYN. She's 17.

Yes they do but ask and use your judgement if your doctor would be a good fit for a teen. I went with my mom to hers when I was 13 and had excirsiating periods. Got on bc at 16 and it was so so much better. Didn't actually have sex until 20 and was on bc the whole time for cramps and acne.

Anonymous wrote:Do you start your daughter on birth control before she leaves for college? Honest question that I've been thinking about lately.

DD's been on the pill since 15 to control heavy periods. She's looking into an IUD now. As a poster above said, those are all the rage among teen girls now. When I chat with the moms of her friends, that's what 99% of their daughters are on and my kid swears she's the only one on her volleyball team without one.

Anyway, since she got her license and started driving independently, she's been 100% responsible for her bc pill prescription. It's not something I made a rule about, like, "well, you drive now, so you do this on your own." It's just something that happened naturally.

My goal this summer is to make my son more medically independent. He'll be 16 in a few weeks and he's still been relying on me to handle all medical appointment logistics (scheduling, remembering, going with him but not in, talking to the nurses before and after, payment, getting meds, etc.). His excuse is "I just don't understand all this insurance and medical stuff!" Well, this summer we learn!

Seeing this post reminded me of dropping my brother off at college. As we were carrying stuff into the dorm, the bottom fell out of one of his boxes and an enormous box of condoms spilled everywhere. My mom quickly remembered she had dropped something in the stairwell. My dad was trying to keep a straight face and I laughed so hard it turned into a coughing fit with tears running down my face. It was a special family moment.

Does your regular OB-GYN see teenagers? I want to bring my teen for a visit to talk about birth control, but I don't know if its better to see the pediatrician or the OB-GYN. She's 17.

Yes to BC and yes to condoms. It’s no different than helping them with twin xl sheets. It’s just supplies for their new life and help getting settled. They have enough to worry about without searching for free ones at the last minute. These kids aren’t dating but they are f*cking. There are no late bloomers in college.

Anonymous wrote:No. Why would I? College health services give them away for free.

This. They have to take responsibility for their own reproductive health now that they are adults.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Would you buy your daughter menstruation products and birth control?

Don't you think that your child, whom you are sending off to live, study and work independently, not to mention cook, launder and clean-up, can buy their own stuff???

NP. Yes, I bought my daughter a Diva cup when she went to college, at her request. But no way am I providing BC to any of my kids. They understand that if they aren't mature enough to have the protection covered, they aren't mature enough for sex.

Well that's one head-in-the-sand approach.

Teens have sex, whether they are mature enough or not.

OMG my son and I were just joking about this last night. Everytime we go to the doctor's office, I take a handful of the free condoms. He saw my (small) pile last night and asked why I grabbed more. He doesn't currently have a girlfriend, as has plenty. I looked at the expiration date (2020), and said "It's your college savings account."
We both had a good laugh.

He also gives them to friends as needed. So, while I was mainly joking about saving for college, yes I'll take whatever we still have & isn't expired, and send them with him to college. Lord knows we don't need them.

Anonymous wrote:I packed Advil, bandaids, eye drops, condoms AND Plan B. Why? Because it is a pain to go to the drug store and because my kid might have friends who need them. You all are kidding yourself if in the heat of the moment your kids are going to say “stop, I need to run to health services for a free condom”

PLUS... public service announcement.

It is not a myth that girls are trying to lose their virginity the summer before college. Any old boy will do.

I packed Advil, bandaids, eye drops, condoms AND Plan B. Why? Because it is a pain to go to the drug store and because my kid might have friends who need them. You all are kidding yourself if in the heat of the moment your kids are going to say “stop, I need to run to health services for a free condom”