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"When no boys are in the classroom girls take part more. They answer more questions, and they argue more. I guess you would say they debate more, but I remember the same situation happening when boys were in the class and a couple of them yelled out "Cat Fight!" The girls got angry, and they stopped debating."

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What Your Daughter Needs to Know About Sex

By Jane St. Clair

Many parents assume their children are learning about sex and contraception in school. However, this is not always the case -- and even when sex ed is being taught, it is unlikely that all of a child's questions will be answered. It is still up to parents to teach their children about sex in terms of their own beliefs and values.

Here are a few things that your daughter might need to know about sex, especially before she enters a college campus environment. These subjects may not have been covered in her school classes.

Sexual Harassment

Your daughter may be among the 89 percent of teenaged girls who tell pollsters that they have endured sexual harassment at school and on college campuses. A study by the American Association of University Women found that 25 percent experience forced kissing, 15 percent have their clothes pulled off, and 18 percent endured harassment at school by adult males. These behaviors are illegal, and your daughter has rights. If she attends a public school, there has to be a formal sexual harassment policy in place to deal with matters such as these.

“Sexting” Can Lead to Legal Trouble

If your daughter is under age 18 years and if she sends semi-nude or nude pictures of herself to others via cellphone, or posts them on the Internet, she may be guilty of distributing child pornography. Several teen "sexting" cases are in various state courts right now. The punishments are theoretically harsh, such as long jail sentences and having to register as sex offenders, but so far no teen has been sentenced. Teenaged girls tell researchers that they send these pictures to boys in order to please them. They also say that they have sex to please their partners, but afterward, 62 percent regret the decision and 59 percent say they do not enjoy having sex. Most studies show that the teens who get pregnant are more likely to have low self-esteem and not achieve academically. Help your daughter develop interests and hobbies so that she has a strong sense of herself and her own identity beyond how she looks and how pleasing she is to boys.

Teen Pregnancy

Girls are the ones who get pregnant, and it is very easy to do so unless she and her partner use birth control in a consistent way. Because more teens are having more sex at earlier ages, the teen birth rate has actually increased over the past two years after years of decline. About 35 percent of American girls get pregnant before they are 20 years old – the highest rate in the developed world. Half of these pregnancies end in abortion. Many young girls do not take responsibility for their sexual activity by going out and getting their own birth control. In their minds, sex “just happens.” Teach your daughter about birth control before sex “just happens.”  The “morning after” pill will soon be available over-the-counter to anyone age 17 or older There may be reasons for your daughter to date boys her own age, because studies show girls who date boys who are six or more years older are more likely to have sex. For example, if the girl is 13 years old and her boyfriend is 19, she is six times more likely to have sex than if she is with someone her age. Girls are more easily infected with certain sexually transmitted diseases and have more serious consequences from these STDs than boys do. Condoms protect against HIV/AIDS, but they will not prevent the transmission of herpes, syphilis, chancroid, or HPV. It is also possible to get diseases from oral sex -- for example, gonorrhea of the throat. Also, your daughter should take the vaccine that prevents the types of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts.

Date Rape and Relationship Violence

Many studies indicate that once younger teens begin having sex, they are more likely to become victims of physical and mental abuse or “dating violence." A young boy in middle school will become protective of his sexual partner, sometimes growing jealous and abusive if she flirts with some other boy. Girls have gotten into physical fights with one another over boys, and bullied each via texting and other online forums, once they believe their partners are interested in someone else. Many girls become overly “clingy” to their boyfriends, mistakenly believing that the boyfriend is more committed to her than he actually is. Some child psychologists believe that the majority of young teens are too immature to handle the emotional content of sexual relationships, even though the average age of first intercourse is 14.9 years. The majority of rapes -- 68 percent -- take place in private homes with males the girls know. Date rape is the most common form of rape (78 percent), and 25 percent of females experience it in some form before age 25 years. The typical scenario is that the boy does not acknowledge the girl’s signal to stop. Teach your daughter to be very clear when expressing her wishes to her dating partner.
 

What are the different types of girls boarding schools? Learn about specialized boarding schools for girls, such as boarding schools that specialize in learning disabilities, Asperger's syndrome, oppositional defiance, and substance abuse issues

What do the studies show about girls-only boarding schools? Statistics and other studies on how girls' only schools impact girls' learning, education, and academic performance >>

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