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economist suntribune families saturday feb 26 2000 15 teens talk about sex iaclyn wilkinson special to the erabanner york region parents educators and the pub lic health department seem to be doing something right when it comes to educating teens on safer sex teen pregnancy rates in york region are well below ontarios overall rate statistics show about 25 per cent out of every 1000 york region te aged 15 to 19 were pregnant in 1995 compared to nearly 50 per cent on average across the province catherine white manager of the regions sexual health pro gram said research by mcmaster university has shown low teen pregnancy rates can be attrib uted to public counselling and clinics and area school sex edu cation programs but studies show parents still arent comfortable talking about the facts of life when it comes to open dis cussions with their parents about sex a lot of teens say just do if i think parents need not be so shy and understand their kids are learning about sex in school but it will always make them feel better if it comes from their parents so they should just get with their kids and talk with them about it said heather 19 just bring it up dont beat around the bush agreed brian 22 he said his parents were always willing to talk openly about sex when he was younger and he thinks this has enabled him to view sex as something that is not shameful glenn di pasquale chief psy chologist for the york region district school board said par ents who have a good relation ship with their kids usually have no trouble talking about sex parents should be open and non judgmental with their chil dren when discussing sex they should also invite children to ask questions no matter how dumb they may seem he said ifs important to remember talking about sex and encourag- ing teens to make the right deci sion isnt the same as insisting they abstain di pasquale said if parents pressure their kids i think a lot of teens will rebel agreed heather and theyll just be rebelling against their par ents just because most teenagers tend to rebel york public health is working together with schools to educate teens about the risks of sex and steps they can take to protect themselves the board offers clinics in markham richmond hill sutton newmarket and at seneca colleges king campus the clinics offer counselling testing for stds or pregnancy medical exams and birth control clinics are free confidential and dont require a ohb card contact the sexual health information line to set up appointments at 1-800-461- 2135 drivethru oil change professionals hwy 7 galsworthy and kennedy unionville gate convenient fast professional service warranty approved products services ask your technician about our super specials oil change packages include ri warranty approved oil filter ri oil to crankcase capacity d 22 fwntvisual inspection maximum 5 litres labour ail above offers are not valid with any other discount offer coupon expires march 31 2000 no cash surrender value registered 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