The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

Source: KidsHealth Can a girl get pregnant if she has sex during her period?– Jamie* A lot of people think that if a girl has sex during her period, she can't get pregnant. But it is possible for a girl to get pregnant while she is bleeding. This can happen for a couple of reasons: Not all vaginal bleeding is the result of a menstrual period. Sometimes a girl will have a small amount of vaginal bleeding at the time of ovulation — the time when she is most fertile. During ovulation, an egg is released from one of the ovaries and travels down a fallopian tube to the uterus. It's common for girls who are ovulating to have some vaginal bleeding that can be mistaken for a period. Sometimes ovulation can occur before the bleeding from a girl's period has stopped, or it may occur within a few days after her period is over. Sperm can fertilize an egg for several days after ejaculation. So in both cases, having sex before the period is finished can result in pregnancy . Having unpro...

Advocates for Youth - http://www.advocatesforyouth.org - offers a comprehensive website of information for parenting and teens today. Articles covering issues that kids are dealing with today and helping parents to communicate better with their teens and tweens. Source: Advocates for Youth 10 Tips for Talking about the Facts of Life Also available in [ PDF ] format.Initiating conversations about the facts of life may be difficult for some parents because they did not grow up in an environment where the subject was discussed. Some parents may be afraid they do not know the right answers or feel confused about the proper amount of information to offer. To help, here are 10 tips from the experts at Advocates for Youth: First, encourage communication by reassuring your children that they can talk to you about anything. Take advantage of teachable moments. A friend's pregnancy, news article, or a TV show can help start a conversation. Listen more than you talk. Think about what you...

Source: Connect with Kids “I always get a little bit nervous because I always worry about what they might ask me about my own life.” – Judy Crim, Mother When 12-year-old Sean Crim has a question about sex he asks his mother. “I would probably rather get information about sex from my parents. They always tell me the truth and they’ve never really lied to me about anything,” he says. But for his mom, talking about sex isn’t easy. “I always get a little bit nervous because I always worry about what they might ask me about my own life,” says Judy Crim. It’s an issue for lots of parents. If your children ask about your life before marriage, how would you answer? Sean’s mom says it’s happened to her. Judy says, “We talk about what was going on when I was a teenager, what teenagers were actively doing. And they’ll say mom did you do any of that?” It’s an awkward question. Experts say if you are too uncomfortable…you don’t have to answer. Leola Reis of Planned Parenthood says, “They are still ...

Discussing sex with your tweens and teens can help them make better choices. Here's how. Temma Ehrenfeld Newsweek Web Exclusive Updated: 10:28 AM ET Jul 31, 2008 What kids think about sex might surprise you, but what they're doing sexually—and when they're doing it—might surprise you even more. In a study this year of more than a 1,000 tweens (kids between the ages 11 and 14), commissioned by Liz Claiborne Inc. and loveisrespect.org, nearly half said they'd had a boy- or girlfriend, and one in four said that oral sex or going "all the way" is part of a tween romance. The parents' view? Only 7 percent of parents surveyed in this study think their own child has gone any further than "making out." The whole subject of sex is so delicate that some parents put off talking to kids about it, believing their child is still too young, or because they're not sure what to say. They "finally sit down to have the Big Talk," says Dr. Mark Schuste...