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Show School and jfTJ Home fe 7 by Dr. Daryl J. McCarty f Executive Secretary Utah Education Association ' 1 Parents: Remember when you sat down with your teenager when you decided it was time to have That Talk? Maybe you did a little throat-clearing and a lot of thinking about the best way to put it. And maybe you didn't have That Talk at all. Perhaps it's more important im-portant that you have That Talk these days than it's ever been before. Why? Statistics answer that question. Last year, the number of teenage pregnancies in Utah reached 70 for every 1,000 girls in that age group. The national average was 58 per 1,000 teenaged girls. Many of those girls are married. Some are not. Now, another statistic: The number of induced abortions among teenaged Utah girls rose from 341 in 1974 to 618 in 1975, and to 756 last year. One-third of all abortions in Utah involve teenage girls. Of these girls who are in their school years, many drop out. - Most suffer psychological difficulties. Many parents have been quite plain on this point: They do not want sex education taught in the schools their children attend. As a result, many schools do not offer such classes in Utah. That leaves this education squarely in the laps of parents. Trouble is, many parents are reluctant or unprepared to provide this instruction personally. However, there are ways to obtain help. Sometimes, religious leaders have the skill, the manner and the know-how to help perents and teenagers with this matter. Often, physicians are in demand for lectures to groups of teenage girls or boys. Maybe a book will help. Many libraries have books on this subject for parents and children. The library's information in-formation desk can help you, and you needn't be reluctant to ask for the books. According Ac-cording to a librarian, they're . very much in demand. This instruction is a difficult, dif-ficult, delicate responsibility, parent. But it is a responsibility respon-sibility that must be handled. |