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Print This StoryMany Teens Believe Soda Pop Can Stop Pregnancy
Sex Myths Abundant Among Today's Youth
POSTED: 12:46 p.m. EST October 29, 2001
CLEVELAND -- Teen pregnancy rates continue to drop; still, officials said that an average of more than 1 million teenage girls become pregnant every year in this country.
Experts said that there's no shortage of ignorant ideas about birth control.
In Monday's edition of Connecting With Kids, NewsChannel5's Tonya Strong discusses sex myths.
In a forum of middle-school teens, the questions posed say a lot about the level of sexual education. But, sometimes, when children don't have the answers, they come up with their own, often erroneous, theories about contraception.
"Most of the carbonated drinks with yellow #5 in it, people think that's going to act as a spermicide and stop people from getting pregnant," Keegan, 15, said.
"That if they eat the candy, then the sperm won't be that high -- the count," Terresha, 14, said.
"If you douche with Coke after you have sex, then you're less likely to get pregnant," Leslie, 17, said.
There are a number of reasons for the spread of sexual myths, but experts said that one reason is that some teens reject legitimate, correct advice on sex -- convinced that it's part of a conspiracy.
"A lot of the people (who) they talk to or come in contact with, they feel like (they) have this agenda to keep them from being sexually active, so they'll tell them everything and anything to scare them so they won't have sex," Dr. Edmund Kim said.
Experts said for that reason, it's critical for parents to maintain their credibility by supplying only accurate information to their children, not only about sex, but about other issues as well.
Some children will eventually tune out scare tactics and lectures about sex. Instead, experts said that an open, give-and-take discussion about some of the myths can correct some misconceptions.
If parents approach it openly, get their children's feedback and have them think through it, a lot of times they'll come to their own conclusions, which will usually be the right ones, according to experts.
Check out NewsNet5's Connecting With Kids page for more information and helpful tips.
Experts said that there's no shortage of ignorant ideas about birth control.
In Monday's edition of Connecting With Kids, NewsChannel5's Tonya Strong discusses sex myths.
In a forum of middle-school teens, the questions posed say a lot about the level of sexual education. But, sometimes, when children don't have the answers, they come up with their own, often erroneous, theories about contraception.
"Most of the carbonated drinks with yellow #5 in it, people think that's going to act as a spermicide and stop people from getting pregnant," Keegan, 15, said.
"That if they eat the candy, then the sperm won't be that high -- the count," Terresha, 14, said.
"If you douche with Coke after you have sex, then you're less likely to get pregnant," Leslie, 17, said.
There are a number of reasons for the spread of sexual myths, but experts said that one reason is that some teens reject legitimate, correct advice on sex -- convinced that it's part of a conspiracy.
"A lot of the people (who) they talk to or come in contact with, they feel like (they) have this agenda to keep them from being sexually active, so they'll tell them everything and anything to scare them so they won't have sex," Dr. Edmund Kim said.
Experts said for that reason, it's critical for parents to maintain their credibility by supplying only accurate information to their children, not only about sex, but about other issues as well.
Some children will eventually tune out scare tactics and lectures about sex. Instead, experts said that an open, give-and-take discussion about some of the myths can correct some misconceptions.
If parents approach it openly, get their children's feedback and have them think through it, a lot of times they'll come to their own conclusions, which will usually be the right ones, according to experts.
Check out NewsNet5's Connecting With Kids page for more information and helpful tips.
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