Basic HTML Version
December 1970
The
PLAlN TRUTH
Ambonodor Col/090
Photos
Right educotion for morrioge is essential. Sex instruction in the classroom
(left) is on ottempt ot solving the problem - yet, there is no substitute for
the proper exomple within the fomily structure (right).
people say that love is blind. The per·
son you are in !ove with is the greatest
and most divine person in the world.
And the fact that this extraordinary,
HEAVEN·SENT CREATURE
loves
you
makes you feel like a very special per–
son yourself. Boys feel that no feat is
too difficult, girls feel that no sacrifice is
great enough to prove their love. One's
heart is open, the
1/JOrld
is
paradise
and
EVERYTHING
is possible.
LOVERS ARE
LUNATICS
is just another way of say–
ing you're usually
slightly out of your
mind
when you're in love - the most
delicious form of imanity
'koown to
man.'
"In a sense, one's ego stops function–
ing. Jt ternporarily
CEASES TO JUDGE
RI!ALITY
with any degree of accuracy
... " (p. 161, emphasis ours).
There you have it!
With advice like that, most young
couples simply rush into marriage -
without thinking of the coosequences.
Their heads are swimming with idyllic
ideas of romance - that never come
to
pass in reality.
The Influence of Parents
Parents may not realize how much
their children look to
them
for marital
guidance. "Surveys since 1960 have
turned up 40% of the parents credited
by their children with their sex educa–
tion [ also, this would presuppose mar–
riage instruction
J.
Considerably more
girls than boys say that they get their sex
education in their own homes ..."
(Love
and the Facts of Life,
Duvall, p. 68).
In another survey, the question was
asked: "Where do most of your ideas
about marriage come from?" The 121
girls interviewed Jisted the following
sources:
TV
and movies . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Friends ........ ... ........ 30
19
Oneself ..... ....... ... ....
35
Home and Parents . . . . . . . . .
73
Since "oneself" as a source is dubious
and impossible (we know
nothing
at
birth aod must learn everything), par–
ents come out as the overwhelming
source of information about marriage.
At least, so said the gicls.
T o what degree do Dad and Mom
affect their children? Recently a rather
large survey was conducted trying to
discover to what extent dose family ties
affect the morality of children. This sur–
vey disclosed that those who are
most
infilmued
by their families were the
least sexually promiscuous.
What does this mean?
It
means that
parents have a profound effect on how
their chi!dren will conduct their lives
after leaving home. Yes, and even how
happy their marriages will be.
Many young people earnestly desire
help from their parents. Many more
need to. Parents should know their chil–
dren better than any living human
being. They are in the best position to
offer the help that young people need.
But do even they have the answers?
Unfortunately, not as often as
they
should!
"A considerable number [of parents]
volunteered the information that even
though they thought they ought to dis–
cuss the facts of life with their children,
they actually found that they were
tongue-tied UJhen confronted
with their
children's sex questions.
"Many of the mothers admitted being
UNCOMFORTABLE ANO UNEASY
in talk–
ing about the personal side of life with
their own children. Sorne of them recog–
nize that their embarrassment stemmed
from their own inadequate sex educa–
tion from their parents. As one mother
put it, 'In my growing-up years we just
didn't ask. We simply guessed at
answers and put two and two together
on our own' " (Duvall, p. 58).
Questions on sex, !ove and marriage
have puzzled more than a few parents.
Dad and Mom often find that the les–
sons they learned in the school of hard
knocks are not always easy to put into
words. Often they just
DON'T KNOW
the
answers because
their parents
didn't
teach them.
Parents should have the background
and ability to teach their children. And