Qian

Gone in a second

By Andrea Arscott

ow do you know if your child is
H= safe at all times? The sad

reality is, you will never know.
You can take all the necessary precautions |
in the world, but itis nearly impossible |
to know where your kids are, whom they '
are with and what they are doingevery
second of the day. You can only hope that |
your children are well educated and able
to make informed decisions at the time
they are forced to make critical choices
in their teenage years. You have to give
your kids the benefit of the doubt and
pray they don’t make the wrong choices
when it comes to sex and drugs. Mistakes
like these could end up costing them their
lives. It’s truly amazing how one little |
decision can be forever life changing and ~
how it can cause one to wish for eternity
they could return to that one moment in
time. One’s dreams, hopes and future all
gone in a second.

Try to imagine the processes your
youngster will take when they think they
are ready for intimacy. Do you trust that
your child will abstain from having sex
when his or her boyfriend or girlfriend
brings it up? Consider whether or not
your kid would know how to put a stop to
his or her date if they tried to go further.
Confidence is key. When it comes to
condom use, being prepared ahead of
time is your teen’s responsibility and
it’s a big one. Will they figure out how
to use one before jumping into bed with
someone or in the dark after a night of drinking?
By the time your teen learns, maybe it will be too
late. As a parent, you need to ensure your children
are capable of getting themselves and their partners
tested prior to engaging in sexual activity. Are you
positive your adolescents and their partners are
HIV negative?

Say Tommy walks into a washroom at a party
and finds several teens inside snorting cocaine. If
he is offered a hit, are you certain he would say
“no thanks” and walk out? Suppose the kids were
smoking crack or crystal meth or shooting heroin
instead. Surely, Tommy understands the risks and
outcomes of sampling these dangerous drugs. Is
he aware that trying them “just one time” doesn’t
exist for most people and that addictions kick in
immediately? Sharing drug paraphernalia is also
very risky business, and can lead to HIV and Hep C
transmission, which can cause death. What do you
know for a fact your child knows?

Most likely youth received sex education
in class and they may have had speakers come
in to talk about HIV and drugs, but with all the
funding cuts to social services, health care, and the

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education system, I believe parents need to take
this matter into their own hands and ensure their
children are still getting this valuable information.
Even if your child has received this lesson, my
concern is that your teen still has questions and
walked away feeling they were left in the dark. I
worry these young people will not seek out the
answers for fear of embarrassment and will not get
the correct information. Next thing you know, they
are thrown into a situation where they are forced to
make a decision without knowing the consequences
of their actions.

Teenagers have a higher risk of contracting
HIV because they are more likely to make bad
decisions as a result of experimentation with drugs
and alcohol. One may choose not to wear a condom
or have unprotected sex with someone they hardly
know while under the influence, when ordinarily
they would be more responsible. Many others think
they are doing enough by taking birth control pills,
but pills don’t protect against HIV and other STIs.

In my conversations with youth, some are very
surprised to hear that it is possible to get HIV from
sharing a straw to snort cocaine, from unprotected
oral sex, and from unsterilized tattoo and piercing

 
  
   

equipment. I’ve seen the panic in their eyes. I’ve
had grown adults leave the room in tears after
realizing just how many risky activities they’ve
engaged in. Some simply didn’t know there was a
danger and were never informed. Now they must
face an HIV test.

HIV is not a death sentence like it used to be,
and many live a very long and normal life with
this illness because of the advances in treatment.
However, there is still no cure, and it’s not
something anyone wants. It’s certainly nothing you
wish your child to get. And although it’s not the end
of the world, it will definitely take its toll on yours.
Devastation is all around us, but sometimes we just
don’t know it’s there. Sometimes we can’t see it,
because we close our eyes to it.

Knowledge is the power within your child to
stand strong. Is your child getting their vital dose?

Andrea Arscott

Bloom’n Buddies Tween Talk

“Know before you grow. It just makes sense!”
604-250-6887

andrea @tweentalk.ca

www.tweentalk.ca