Attention Parents are you talking?

Day 2 and I have a million thoughts running through my head. Who do I want to talk to today? Today I want to ask the parents are you talking to your kids about S-E-X? Because let me tell you everyone else is! Last year I had an opportunity to drive an hour north of here to talk to a group of kids 9th thru 12th grade about abstinence. There were about 30 in all, and I felt it went very well. Sure I had the few looking at me as if to say, "Sorry sweetheart, but that bell has already been rung!" And I was looking right back at them letting them know we can always stop ringing the bell. After the talk, three beautiful girls approached me and said that no one had ever told them it was okay NOT to have sex. They thought something was wrong with them. I gave them a big hug and my email in case they ever needed to talk. As I was driving home, I found myself so angry with their parents. As parents we teach our kids to not run with scissors and to stop jumping off the furniture because we don't want them to get hurt. Why in the world would we not talk to them about something that not only can cause physical long term damage, but also is potentially emotionally and psychologically scarring? Listen up parents! The awful truth is that 1 in 4 sexually active girls has an STD and 1 in 5 boys. I don't know about you but the dating pool for my daughters is getting smaller and smaller. I need to clean this pool but I need your help. TALK TO YOUR KIDS!
Here is a concept....family dinner time. I seriously don't remember my parents telling me directly about abstinence but I somehow knew exactly how they felt about sex outside of marriage. I also know we sat down every night and they asked each of us (there were 3 of us) how our day went and what did we learn. One of my most memorable dinners came the night my younger brother (he was in 4th grade) announced at the table he knew all about sex. My mother very calmly encouraged him to pease share with the rest of us. He said, "Well first you find a girl and ask her out for a date. If all goes well you will date for a while and maybe even hold hands." My mother was nodding and smiling as he continued, "then if you fall in love, you ask her to marry you and then after you are married, you can have sex, but if you really love her, you can have sex first and then get married." I did not know my mother could move that fast as she leaped over the dinner table screaming "Oh no you don't!" My older brother and I were laughing hysterically, but we too got the message loud and clear!
It's time to talk about sex, and you cannot feel awkward or squeamish about it. Did you feel awkward telling them to look both ways before crossing the street? As I said, talk to your kids about sex. EVERYONE else is and they are getting a lot of bad info.