Top 8 Reasons Teenagers Have Sex (Prematurely/Premaritally)

Stop anguishing over the choices teenagers make. You were there not too long ago. All we can do is offer them guidance through our wisdom and experience. It's our responsibility to not judge but to lead! To put this age old question and related ones to rest, I've comprised not one or two but the top 8 reasons!

• Ignorance - They think they're supposed to or even expected to or that they have no consequences to think of. They don't know the purpose or responsibility of it. They think it is casual, fun or even a rite of passage. They're curious and don't know how to learn.
  
  
• Fear - this comes from ignorance. They believe that they will not ever have the opportunity to do it again or that they will lose an opportunity to be with a specific person if they do not.
  
  
• Rumors, peer pressure and society - Growing up now-a-days, sex is pretty much everywhere. It's just that much more difficult to say no, mean it and follow through when you've been force-fed the idea that everybody is doing it. (No matter what, there has always been a 40-55% who aren't but most never know that because sex is too often glorified, especially in the teen world.)
  
  
• They believe in "protection" - This is a fairly new phenomena but it has influenced an entire generation...or three. If you have some type of drug or rubber, they may not really see it as sex or don't care because they think it keeps them from any consequences of sex - like becoming parents or sharing infections. Sadly but truly, this type of thinking has led to a large increase in number of infections and teenage pregnancies because the "protection" isn't completely effective. Thus, our babies having babies have created a lot of 30-year-old grandparents (hence the "entire generation...or three" statement).
  
  
• Insecurity - When somebody feels badly about themselves, they are very likely to seek praise, approval and validation elsewhere. Too often, that approval is from somebody their own age of the opposite gender who they wind up doing physical/sexual things with...which eventually makes them feel worse.
  
  
• Loss of morals, respect, virtue, values, dignity, a spiritual connection to sex, an understanding of their body's purpose - I've faced it that morality, in many places and in many ways, has declined. Our children see our actions and whether or not they follow, it is bound to effect their attitude toward such activities. What standards have you made in your home? In your personal life? What model have you set up for them? It's not just parents - it takes a village. If somebody thinks sex is just a physical act, they will feel they can do it and not have to feel anything or experience any spiritual aftermath. If somebody thinks that their body is just something they were born into that will die when they die, they won't respect it as a God-given instrument for His will and holy purposes. If somebody is used to people saying inappropriate things or grabbing them inappropriately, they will just view sex as a next step. How a person views life greatly effects how they view sex.
  
  
• They are human. Humans may make unplanned decisions because we are imperfect creatures. We are complex and need to pay close attention to our actions because they lead to other actions. Humans are designed to, in the right moments, want to and be able to have sex. When teenagers are in situations where they are doing things that most would consider foreplay but which they most likely just view as a game or experimentation, there is no surprise when they have "gone all the way." If a sexual relationship is something that they want under certain circumstances, they need to know to not set themselves up for it beforehand. They need to not be alone for too many hours with somebody they know they like in more than a friendly way. They need to not leave themselves vulnerable to be preyed upon and they need to not rush others into it, either.
  
  
• They want to feel loved. They believe that it will be passionate, like it always is on television and that, at least for those few moments, they will feel completely loved for who they are. Too many people do not know what love is and how to share it. It's not just a feeling. Love is the most universal thing. It is the most powerful and unifying thing in this world. There's nothing wrong with wanting it but being misguided regarding what it is and how to give and receive it can prove deadly. You don't need to have a baby at fourteen to feel love and you don't need a random moment with a random person. Look all around; love is everywhere.