Time to openly talk to our daughters about sex

Like many mums of teen girls, Grace is struggling with whether or not to put her 15-year-old daughter on birth control pills. Not that she wants her daughter to be sexually active: "She is seeing a 17-year-old boy.... I don't want her to think I don't trust her to be careful with this boy, but I think contraception is a good idea...."

I receive many such concerns, especially during the long school holidays and festivities. One mother said we should face reality: "We can teach our daughters about STDs, pregnancy, sex, and love, but in the end, we know they are going to do exactly what they want."