Originally Posted by Stormieweather

Having been raised in a fundamentalist, extremely sheltered home, I can testify that all that 'protecting' from the evils of the world is ineffective in producing an adult with a higher moral core than someone who is exposed to it. By fundamentalist and sheltered, I mean church 3 times a week, an hour a day on my knees for prayer, home schooled until high school and then off to private boarding school, and absolutely no public media (television, radio or fiction) in our home. In my experience, being so sheltered led to fear and guilt, primarily. In addition, I had an insatiable curiosity to experience all that I had missed. I pretty much went hog-wild and pig-crazy once I acquired the nerve to defy my mother, as did many other of the young people I knew in similar situations.

As an adult and mother, I resent other people imposing their moral standards on me. I'm perfectly capable of deciding what is appropriate for my children, thank you very much. Open communication is much more effective than pretending this or that doesn't exist.

In any grocery store, you can walk down the isle and see condoms, pregnancy kits, lubricant, temporary tattoos, cigarettes and liquor. This is somehow alright, but a few magazines with scantily dressed females or suggestive headlines aren't?

Stormie