Chapter Ten – Teaching Children and Teens

If it was not already understood, by now the reader recognizes that the world is saturated with every conceivable kind of fornication and other illicit sexual activity. This quickly, and often immediately, seems to become the main interaction between boys and girls—and, as we have seen, starting at younger and younger ages.

Simply consider again for a moment what has become the never-ending stream of television, newspaper and Internet ads offering sexual “boosters” for men (and other products) in a way that could not have been imagined even a few years ago. Children are seeing this. And then there are the beer commercials that have progressively come to include all sorts of sexual innuendos along with the inclusion of what has become almost the “standard fare” of scantily-clad women. Children are also seeing all of this—and they are taking it in!

So much of television has become utterly vulgar and sex-obsessed—as well as nauseating—to the point that it is difficult, if not almost impossible, to find programming that does not shower children with extremely enticing messages that are a challenge for even the most upright young person to resist, particularly when seemingly no one around him is trying to do the same.

This volume would not be complete without more specifically addressing what youth face today and how this book can help. As discussed thoroughly in earlier chapters, children are being absolutely bombarded with sex from every direction. Everywhere they turn—whether to television, movies, videogames, the Internet, peers at school, or even older siblings—there is sex, more sex, and yet more sex, now in every form!

But, as we have learned, young people today are not at the same time being flooded with the RIGHT KIND of information on sex. The hidden, vital dimension is lacking, and even what they are taught is almost always perverted and twisted. The end result is that teens and young people have come to be filled with misinformation—false information and false values!

Parents who are reading this book must do all that they can to inoculate their children against what they will face and perhaps already are facing in this sex-saturated world.

The Dating Goal

For teens today, dating has become almost an excuse—a burdensome, necessary detail—to “get sex.” It is common today for very young teenagers to lose their virginity. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly very uncommon for one to marry a virgin.

For example, notice a quote from the British (London) newspaper, The Daily Telegraph: “Almost a quarter of 14-year-old girls claim to have had sex and say they have had an average of three partners...Bliss magazine, aimed at teenagers, questions 2,000 of its readers whose average age was 14. Sixteen per cent of those aged 13 or under, 22 per cent of 14-year-olds and 48 per cent of those aged 15 or over said they had had sex.” The facts reveal that more and more teens are having more and more sex!

Correct dating—which leads to a happy marriage—has truly become a lost art.

At the outset, in the book’s Introduction, I explained that I have prepared an extensive book titled Dating and Courtship – God’s Way. I repeat yet again, for teenagers or for parents who have children: That book must be read in conjunction with Sex – Its Unknown Dimension to get the full picture. In fact, it is advisable that teens read our book on dating first before starting this volume, as it builds a vital foundation for all that is covered here.

There is not space in this book to address all the questions that arise regarding teens, dating and sex. Among them are: What is dating? What is courtship? Is “going steady”—dating one person for a long period of time—a good thing to do? What precautions must a teenager take to truly have a successful relationship and, eventually, a happy marriage? What is lust and infatuation? What is love? Is “necking, petting,” or “making out” wrong—and, if so, why? What about premarital sex? What is the best age for marriage? Dating and Courtship – God’s Way thoroughly addresses these questions and many others, and offers plain answers no one else is presenting.

All parents who hope to one day see their children in a fulfilling, wonderful, happy and spiritually-compatible marriage are encouraged to carefully study the principles in this extensive book on proper dating and courtship, and selection of the right mate in preparation for marriage. Nothing like it has ever been written. It is filled with helpful biblical principles and truths that will guide you in HOW to properly guide your children.