Teenage Sex In Young Adult Books, TV shows.

Hello Chic-Ca-Peas,

This is a hot topic and lately getting much attention due to MTV - Skins.

As a writer of young adult novels I find myself biting my nails off when one of my characters veers off course and decides that "Fuck" is the only word that fits into his vocabulary or when Misty thinks that unzipping Ryan’s pants while driving is a good thing.

Truth is; this is happening in teenager’s lives. I'm not saying all teenagers by any means. However, Family First Aid posted Teen Sex statistics. They stated that 75 percent of teenagers have had intercourse by the age of 21 and for all you parents that believe that little Susie and cute little Johnny isn't one of them - well keep reading. Family First Aid also posted that teens in the United States are most likely to have sex before the age of 15! WOWZA! And to top it off - those 15 years old will have more than one sexual partner during a single year.

So sex is all around them and pretending that they shouldn’t or haven’t participated in sexual activity of some sort before the age of 17 is pure denial.

So as a writer I believe that I should write the truth, the truth being of my characters voice - however as a writer of young adult novels I should be a responsible adult. So in my books, you will find truth, consequences and always a positive outcome. It’s my responsibility as a writer to young adults to believe that my novels will bring a positive outcome in their lives. This is one of the very reasons why I love to write young adult. I think this is true for MTV's Skins. Yes that show is "edgy," but in the end the consequences for those "edgy" actions comes out. The one and only thing that Skin's hasn't done is have a positive outcome to those consequences - however the show is new and I believe that with any teenage show or book you will find that a lesson is always to be taught and learnt.

Let's be honest this is how our children and teenagers learn their greatest challenges because parents just don't talk to their kids on "edgy" topics.

On a positive note; Child Trends Data Bank http://childtrendsdatabank.org reports that condom use is increasing. Protected sex among teens risen from 46% in 1995 to 63% in 2005.

I’m not condoning or encouraging teenage sex, because the truth is teenagers are doing it (no pun intended.)  And they will continue to do it. Another truth; they want to do it.