The first place where the boundaries of sex should be established is in the home; however, some parents, in their quest to be relevant or simply because they do not want to lose their child, succumb to the same social pressures as their children—pressures that drive them to allow their teenagers to stay the night with a girlfriend or boyfriend or approve the couple’s plans to move in together.

The primary line of defense in the family is the parent, and yet parents are no longer protecting their children. They are doing the opposite.

Most parents are encouraging their children in their independence. They want their children to have freedom of choice even when their children are too young to understand the power of their choices.

Adolescents, particularly young girls, are disappointed in the lack of boundaries enforced by their parents. A young girl was baffled that her parents allowed her to be alone so often with her boyfriend. No parental supervision made it difficult for this young girl to draw the line.

Young adults do not have a reference point for what is right and what is wrong if their parents do not teach it to them; they flow with whatever society says is okay at the time. This means that premarital sex is a good thing; even a rite of passage! The promise of “no consequences” is a lie, though, and the pain of giving oneself sexually outweighs the supposed sense of freedom.