Can We Talk About Sex For A Minute?

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I'm reading an interesting book: "Dr. Ruth's Guide to Teens & Sex Today." Can you tell I'm hungry for some guidance on the topic? It's Christmas time and my mind should be taking a holiday. I should be reading something adventurous by Nelson DeMille or John Grisham. But no, I'd rather bone up (bad choice of words, I know) on a topic that scares the you-know-what out of me: teens and sex.

My teenager is CRAZY about boys. I guess she always has been, now that I think about it. I remember when she was about 4 and was watching some Disney video. I walked in right when the prince was about to kiss Cinderella, Snow White or one of those lucky princesses. She was standing about 2 feet from the TV, with her fingers in her mouth, looking enraptured. I made some noise to let her know I was there. She turned around, looking embarrassed, and said, "Mommy, go away." Not sure what was going through that sweet little head of hers, but I think she's been obsessed with kissing boys ever since.

She's 15 now, and her Disney days are WAY over. I know she's curious as all get-out about sex, and someday soon, I'm sure her curiosity will get the best of her. I firmly believe that teens should not be having sex at 15. They just aren't emotionally mature enough to handle everything that goes with it.

Dr. Ruth begs to differ. She says that throughout history, it was common for young people to get married in their early to midteens and have children. They were treated as adults back then. She claims that modern society doesn't view teenagers as "having reached adulthood yet because we want them to stay in school and they require parental support to do so." She says we are forcing a lengthened childhood on them. And I guess that means we are holding them back from having sexual experiences that they are physically ready for, too.

Not sure I'm buying that. But as Christmas approaches, I can't help but think about the Virgin Mary, who was around 13 or 14 when she gave birth to Jesus. Granted, it was an immaculate conception. However, if God thought Mary, the teenager, was old enough to mother the Son of God, couldn't we logically conclude that He thinks teenagers might be mature enough to have sex, too?

I plan to ask him about that someday. Face-to-face.

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