Morris 1 Simona Morris Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 December 4, 2013 Promiscuous World: Do You Know What

Your Kids Are Doing? I recently recei e! a call "rom my little sister gi ing me an up!ate on ho# mi!!le school is treating her$ %t the beginning o" the semester, these calls seeme! more "ret"ul as she e&presse! concerns ranging "rom not being accepte! by her peers to being unable to "in! her classes$ 'o#, she appears to be more at ease #ith the "act that she is in the ne&t stage o" her e!ucational career$ %lthough I am gla! that my sister #as able to a!(ust to her ne# en ironment, I can)t help but to re"lect on my o#n e&periences in mi!!le school$ [Indent] I #as an innocent soul #ho #asn)t yet prepare! "or #hat my peers #ante! to e&pose me to$ Many for the ids closest to me were de!elo"ing mature relationshi"s with each other and I #ust wasn$t ready to ha!e a %oyfriend at the time& It seemed as i" most o" my "eers #ere much more promiscuous, mimic*ing the se&ual beha ior o" an a!ult$ +e"lecting on my o#n e&periences an! ha ing concerns about my sister)s #ell,being, I began to #on!er i" chil!ren are still as promiscuous as they #ere in my time$ -romiscuity is !escribe! as casual, se&ual relations that are usually #ith arious partners according to Psychology Dictionary&org& .his general !e"inition o" the term /promiscuous0 "ortrays this type o" beha ior is un"a orable by society, but is this really the case1 2or this beha ior to be consi!ere! /un"a orable0 our society in!ulges in it 3uite "re3uently$ 'e(ual

Morris 2 %eha!ior is something that "eo"le are willingly e("osed to on a daily %ases& Indi!iduals are naturally e("osed to se(ual %eha!ior against their will& %lthough this beha ior is usually consi!ere! /un"a orable0, it is generally normal "or chil!ren to sho# some signs o" promiscuity #ithin their actions$ /Some e&perimental promiscuity !uring a!olescence an! young a!ulthoo! is typical in our culture, an! consi!ere! by most to be !e elopmentally normal rather than pathological0, says Dr$ Stephen Diamon!, a clinical an! "orensic psychologist in 4os %ngeles )*What Moti!ates 'e(ual Promiscuity+,& .his type o" be beha ior may be consi!ere! /!e elopmentally normal0 but it is also 3uite !angerous, seeing ho# a!olescents are not yet mature enough to han!le the responsibilities that follow se&ual %eha!ior$ It seems as if$ .he ages at #hich chil!ren begin to e&periment #ith se& are starting to become younger an! "or some reason, being se&ually acti e is becoming a tren! amongst chil!ren$ /During the past three !eca!es, the le el o" se&ual acti ity in a!olescents in the 5nite! States has increase!, accor!ing to the %merican %ca!emy o" -e!iatrics )'e(ual Promiscuity in Adolescents+,& 6no#ing that this issue is in a sense at the height o" its e&istence, I began to pon!er the 3uestion o" #hat are the "actors that contribute to chil! promiscuity an! ho# are chil!ren in our society to!ay a""ecte!1 Many "arents seem to %e o%li!ious and somewhat na-!e that their "recious child is %ecoming curious a%out se(& .his is %ecoming a huge issue concerning the to"ic of adolescent se(uality& Ignoring your chil!)s curiosity lea es them une!ucate! an! unprepare! "or the !angers an! conse3uences that come #ith parta*ing in se&ual acti ity$ /7oung people ine itably learn about se& an! se&uality "rom their en ironment any#ay, an! it is e i!ent that the en ironment is not al#ays ery sa"e or reliable,0 says Dr$ Michael %$ Carrera o" .he Chil!ren)s %i! Society$ /e continued %y further stating the im"ortance of "arents %eing an influential

Morris 3 factor in their child$s se(ual heath choices& /% parent really has no choice in this matter$ .he only choice is #hether the (ob #ill be !one #ell or poorly,0 Carrera states )*0earning a%out 'e(uality+,$ .hey are to teach their children moral and healthy decision ma ing a%ilities related to their se(ual health& .hey are to encourage a "ositi!e self1image and wor to raise the self1esteem of the adolescent in their life& Parents should first reali2e that their child$s se(ual health largely de"ends on what is going at home& .here are numerous factors that contri%ute to an adolescent$s sense of "romiscuity& 0ife at home plays an essential role in whether a child is to dis"lay a ty"e of a%normal or ina""ro"riate se&ual beha ior$ 3ften4 young children tend to co"y what they see their "arents do& 3%ser!ing their mother and father show signs affection towards one another may s"ar curiosity for a child& .hey may %egin to ma e efforts to mimic their "arent$s %eha!ior& 5or society4 this %eha!ior seems to %e a norm& It isn$t uncommon for children to act in this manner due to the fact that they are not mentally de!elo"ed enough to the "oint that they can deci"her what$s a""ro"riate in such a mature to"ic as se($ /8utsi!e o" this normal beha ior, ho#e er, there are certain re! "lags "or #hich parents an! careta*ers shoul! be on the loo*out,0 says Carrera )*0earning a%out 'e(uality+,& If one was to neglect the signs that a child is showing unhealthy se(ual %eha!ior4 it can most li ely %e ha2ardous to the child$s de!elo"mental "rocess& /Se&ually problematic beha ior in chil!ren an! a!olescents is a telltale sign o" improper or unbalance! !e elopment,0 he continues )0earning a%out 'e(uality+,& It has the "otential to grow into much more serious se(ual "ro%lems and also %e a leading cause of a child dis"laying other negati!e %eha!iors such as aggression4 %ullying4 and !iolent tendencies&

Morris 4 In other cases4 incest within the home can causes an increase in a child$s se(ual confusion and causes them to act out "romiscuously& */owe!er4 the term incest has come to %e used much more loosely today+4 says 5redric 6euman4 M&D4 author of 5ighting 5ears& *Different inds of se(ual encounters among family mem%ers ha!e merged in many "eo"le$s minds with se(ual a%use in general& 6ot sur"risingly& 7hild se(ual a%use often ta es "lace %etween family mem%ers4+ he continued )*'e(ual Promiscuity in Adolescents+,& 8eing that children usually learn most of their %eha!iors in the early stages of de!elo"ment from the "eo"le in their home4 enduring e("eriences of se(ual incest and a%use can largely ha!e a negati!e im"act on a child$s "hysical as well as mental state& [Indent] 2or many cases4 for chil!ren in "oster care, being se&ually abuse! throughout their a!olescent years has le! many chil!ren in the system more #illing to e&periment se&ually$ I remember this girl #ho #as in "oster care9 she !e elope! a se&ually promiscuous personality at the young age o" "our$ It #as min!, blo#ing to me that someone #ho #as so young coul! mimic these types o" beha iors$ .he "act that she #as se&ually abuse! throughout her li"e caused her to ha!e many issues with her social s ills and se(ual %eha!ior& .his playe! as a *ey role as to #hy she ha! no sense o" right an! #rong or #hen it concerne! se&ual beha ior "or someone o" her age$ It is ery apparent that a chil!)s en ironment has a large part to play in #hether a chil! sho#s signs o" being promiscuous or not$ /.#o parents, a single parent, a "oster parent, a gran!parent, or any other a!ult #ho cares "or an! nurtures a young person must assume this tas* because se&uality e!ucation in ol es crucial "amily, religious, an! cultural alues an! con ictions,0 says Dr$ Carerra )*0earning a%out 'e(uality+,& %c*no#le!ging these sign)s an! tal*ing to your chil! about their se&ual curiosity an! interest is one #ay to potentially help your

Morris : chil! un!erstan! #hat they are "eeling& It gi!es them the tools to somewhat suppress their !esires until they are o" a more mature age$ Since my sister is only at the fresh age o" ele en, I ha e ta*en it upon mysel" to e!ucate her as much as I seeme! "it$ It is important that the families and "eo"le closest to the child are acti!ely in!ol!ed in educating the child a%out their se(ual health& .his is to assure that the chil! is a!e3uately e!ucate! an! that the people closest to the chil! ha e the opportunity to gi e the chil! such as the "eo"le in the household, the in"ormation an! the support nee!e! to encourage a healthy se&ual beha ior$ .he last thing I would want is for my sister to de"end on her friends or some %oy she is infatuated with to educate her a%out se(& -eer pressure is also a "actor that can ha e a large impact on chil! promiscuity$ .hin*ing about my little sister an! the things she may be e&pose! to !uring her "irst year o" mi!!le school, this is the "actor that concerne! me the most$ In an article title!, *Peer Pressure: 8eyond 9hetoric to 9eality+4 authors ha!e written that most se&ually acti e youth !escribe! their "irst se&ual encounter as something that #as /pressure!0$ .here are !e"initely reasons behin! #hy chil!ren become a ictim to peer pressure #hen se&ual acti ity is concerne!$ .hey #ere either pressure! by their partner or "rien!s to engage in se&ual acti ity$ In some cases, the a!olescents e en consi!ere! themsel es as the person e&empli"ying a !eman!ing beha ior, pressuring their mate to act out promiscuously$ %ccor!ing to the article, young men ten! to become se&ually acti e as a #ay to gain acceptance "rom their peers #hile young girls ten! to "eel as i" they are obligate! to please their se&ual partner$ Since it #oul! be !i""icult "or parents to #atch their chil!)s e ery mo e an! censor #hat they are e&pose! to, it is their right"ul !uty to e!ucate their chil! properly about se& rather than letting them get all *in!s o" con"using in"ormation "rom their peers$ %ctually tal*ing about

Morris ; se&ually promiscuous beha ior can become an uncom"ortable topic "or the parent as #ell as the chil!$ %ccor!ing to Dr$ Christopher 2ulton, clinical psychologist, states that the "irst step to helping your chil! !e elop healthy se&ual beha ior is to "igure out #here is this beha ior coming "rom an! #hy !oes the chil! "eel the nee! to act out se&ually )*.al ing a%out Promiscuity+,& [Indent] In many cases, the chil! is trying to "ill some type o" oi!$ Some may be see*ing attention an! the only person there to gi e it at the time is a potential se&ual partner$ 2ulton continue! by e&pressing that it is help"ul that the parents o" the chil! #ho is acting out promiscuously ta*e it upon themsel!es to "ro"erly e!ucate their chil! )*.al ing a%out Promiscuity+,& /e stressed the fact that a ma#or factor in whether an adolescent is to dis"lay a sense of "romiscuous %eha!ior is that they most li ely are suffering from issues in!ol!ing their self1esteem& If a child is feeling neglected or unlo!ed4 they are more li ely to see the attention of a se(ual counter"art& It is important "or chil!ren to *no# ho# to properly han!le the topic o" se&$ .here are many !angers that come #ith inade:uately e("laining the conse:uences of se( to children$ .his is because chil!ren are not yet tend to not mature %e at the le el o" maturity to understand what$s normal and what$s a%normal se(ual %eha!ior on their own $ In a stu!y that #as con!ucte! by the Centers "or Disease Control an! -re ention, it #as sai! that one in "our girls bet#een the ages 14 an! 1< #ere !etermine! to ha e either the =uman -apilloma irus >=-?@, chlamy!ia, herpes simple& irus an! trichomoniasis )*'e(ually .ransmitted Diseases+,& Aecause young people are so une!ucate! about se&ual health, they ha e no i!ea about the negati e e""ects o" their promiscuous beha ior$ .hey continue to act out promiscuously, being a !anger to themsel es as #ell as their partners$

Morris B

It is ery apparent that the most e""icient #ay to han!le chil! promiscuity is to "irst ac*no#le!ge that the chil! is !isplaying this type o" beha ior$ It is !ital that a trusted adult figure for the child is willing to a""roach the issue with the intention of "ro"erly "ro!iding nowledge to the child a%out the conse:uences of their actions& 8nce the chil! an! the parent are %oth a#are that this type o" beha ior is potentially haCar!ous to the chil!)s well1%eing and se(ual health, the parent shoul! ta*e action an! pro i!e that chil! #ith the tools they nee! to %est alter their %eha!ior in a manner that$s safest for the child$ .hese tools are not only resources and nowledge& 7hildren in the in all de!elo"mental stages re:uire a certain amount of lo!e and su""ort to hel" alter and e!en "re!ent such %eha!ior& 'o why should society care a%out the issues of child "romiscuity? .he answer to this :uestion is sim"ly %ecause the fate of our future de"ends on these children& 7hildren who tend to act out se(ually tend to de!elo" many "ro%lems as they "rogress through their life& .hey tend to go through o%stacles such as de"ression that can ha!e a negati!e effect on their o!erall well1%eing )8eyond 9hetoric to 9eality,& In order for our future generations to "ros"er4 it is u" to our generation to mold them and encourage "ositi!e decision ma ing with im"ortant issues such as se(& I guess me being so in ol e! in this ne# chapter in my sister)s li"e is a great way to show her I care a%out the direction of her life& I #oul! li*e to be the person to help steer her in the right path$ I now I can$t ma e decisions for her %ut it would %e %eneficial to her future if she has some there to teacher her morals and "ro!ide the nowledge she need to ma e the %est choices for her&