Since the FDA approved Gardasil, the HPV vaccine, parents of young girls have been forced to make a decision about their child’s healthcare – to vaccinate or not. Many questions have been raised about the moral issues of vaccinating young girls against a sexually transmitted virus. Will it promote promiscuity? Are there unknown side effects? How do I talk to my daughter about a vaccine when she hasn't even learned about sex? Read more in "How to Talk to Your Daughter About the HPV Vaccine"
More About HPV
- What is HPV?
- How Do You Get HPV?
- How to Find Out if You Have HPV
- Do Men Get HPV
- HPV Treatment
- Pregnancy and HPV
Photo (c) Anissa Thompson
One should be open, candid and accurate when discussing reproductive and sexual issues with a child. Even pre-teens know or think they know all about sex. I view that parents’ job to be part informative and part de-bunking the playground.
When I was about 14, my dad, a retired Oncologist sate me and my younger brother down and gave us information about health and sex. He drew on his medical knowledge and parts of the discussion were clinical to the point of being sterile. He and my mom also drew from their own experiences to add color to the discussion. Our dad even took the time to educate us on the wants and needs of a woman and a man. While parts of their presentation strayed well over into “too much information land” this education has served me well over the last 27 years.