So sex ed doesn't help, huh?

Last month Premier Dalton McGuinty found himself facing a firing squad of inflammatory and poorly-informed right wingers who screamed from rooftops that a proposed new sex education curriculum was an affront to morality and religious freedom.

These groups said that the new curriculum was "bordering on criminal" and tantamount to "indoctrination of a special-interest agenda."

In a turn of events terribly discouraging to thinking people, McGuinty ended up agreeing to delay the new curriculum to conduct broad consultations with the public.

I wrote my defense of sex education in this blog and there was a vigorous debate in the comments. Many were supportive, but some insisted that sex education does nothing to help delay sexual activity or prevent teen pregnancy. "Concerned Mom" said:

"I don't think that having this kind of sex education will prevent in any way teens from having babies as you mention or of having sex at all. They will do it or won't anyways mostly depending on the education they have had at home."

A commenter who went by "Upset Mom" said:

"Education does not prevent anything...if it were true then the rate of teen pregnancies would have dropped, and it has not."

Well, actually, it has. And today we have recent proof of that. The Sex Information and Education Council released data that shows teen pregnancy dropped 36.9 per cent between 1996 and 2006. 

Francine Kopun's story "Teen pregnancies plummet in Canada" outlines the details, including that Canada has the lowest teen pregnancy rate among the countries surveyed. The others were the United States, Sweden, England and Wales.

The researchers postulated that access to contraception and higher quality sexual education were the reason behind the drop in unwanted teenage pregnancy by more than one third.

Several commenters shared how lack of access to basic instruction on sexual health and human reproduction negatively impacted their lives:

"Sarah" said:

As someone who grew up in a household where no straightforward information about sexuality was permitted... I can verify that nothing leads to experimentation with sex like absolute ignorance! I didn't want 'how to' information, I wanted 'about' information."

Kenn Chaplin shared this:

"Guess where I stand as a kid who only figured out I was gay when school kids said enough derogatory, descriptive things that bore some resemblance to my innocent feelings, bullied by a head teacher who broke his trust with me and made my first seven years of schooling hell, I was then abused by a much older sexual predator. If there had been more formal talk and less learning important words outside and in illogical order…who knows how much better even just a little sensitively-discussed information would have helped me and others."

Jillian Walker had this interesting perspective:

"I grew up in a household where sex was an open topic of discussion. My girlfriends grew up in households where sex was a taboo subject. Is it a coincidence that those same girlfriends were all having sex by aged 13, and I was almost 18? I don't think so. I believe that if my kids have all of the correct information (including what repercussions may follow, be it a disease, a broken heart, a soiled reputation, a teen pregnancy), they will make informed choices about what they will do, when they will do it, and who they will do it with. I'd rather them make informed choices than make blind choices that they have to pay for later.

"Bravo to you for writing this blog. Cheers to all of those people who support the proposed curriculum changes, and to those who don't...do your research, get informed, and don't come crying to me when you find out your 14-year-old is going to be a parent because you refused to keep a supply of condoms available for them just in case."

Top videos of the week

It's the Friday of a long weekend, a day for which productivity can be best characterized by the fact that the world stopped to play Pac Man on the Google home page this morning.

So just for fun, I'm going to share a few videos that made me smile this week. Some are to watch with the kids. The others are just for you.

BEST CUTE ANIMAL VIDEO

Meet the sloths from Amphibian Avenger on Vimeo.

Because who knew baby sloths were so ugly-cute?

BEST SUMMARY OF A TV SERIES BY A BUNCH OF SCRAGGLY CATS

Because you're never going to find time to watch those other seasons on DVD.

BEST ATTEMPT TO GLAMORIZE PEDESTRIAN ASPECT OF LIFE AS A PARENT

Because you may be trying to convince yourself that the mini-van is the new Jetta.

BEST SHREK FOREVER PRIMER

Because with YouTube, there's no reason not to know the funniest lines before you even leave for the theatre.

Nominate a special teacher!

Is there a really remarkable teacher at your child's school who deserves to be recognized?

It's that time of year when the Toronto Star and parentcentral.ca start to take your nominations for a Toronto Star Teacher Award.

Now's your chance to enter a certified Ontario elementary or secondary teacher that you think went that extra mile during the September 2009 to June 2010 school year.

Fill out this online entry form with the pertinent details plus 200-500 words about his or her qualities and teaching characteristics, plus specific examples of the teacher's efforts, dedication, mentorship or the difference made to your life or the lives of others.

To get an idea what we're looking for, you can check out last year's winners.

A camping we will go

Last weekend was an important first for my eldest son, Cameron. He'd never been camping, and he was pretty keen on roasting a wiener over the fire and on checking out this s'more thing the kids were talking about.

While I grew up in Alberta and on Vancouver Island, spending lots of time in the Rockies and in rain forests, and while my father was a pretty serious outdoorsman of hardy Scandinavian stock, I'm generally more at home in a small boutique hotel than a small tent.

I'm a bit of a disappointment to my pioneering ancestors.

However, I am a good sport and keen on new experiences. So one year ago I joined the Hyndman brothers, Arn and Kyle, with whom I grew up in B.C., as well as Arn's lovely family and Ottawa-area friends for my first Algonquin Park canoe-camping trip.

It was glorious - though wet at times - and I had some great new experiences, stretching myself physically in a stunning setting. Given the opportunity, I swore I'd bring Cameron next time.

So despite hearing many declarations of "you're nuts" and "do you know how cold it's supposed to be?" we headed up there last weekend. This is Cameron, Kyle and I at the put-in, about to start our trip.

Cameron was pretty taken with the setting...

...and his new friends, Emma, (left) and Nel, one of whom would declare her desire to marry him within the first 24 hours (won't name names, but will say, it was the one in pink).

Gathering firewood our first night, Cameron begged, "Oh PUL-LEASE bring me back next year!" Exploring the outer edges of the site, he came across the latrine. "Look, a garbage can for our garbage!" he said, sounding every inch the city kid. Emma and Nel quickly set him straight.

That "I...HAVE MADE FIRE!" thing seems to apply to men big and little. Here Dave helps Cameron haul a big piece of fallen birch to the fire pit.

The next morning we woke up to a lightning storm followed by hail. Still cheerful, Cameron bounded back to the tent and said, "It's kind of fun having new experiences like hail in the springtime!" Above, here I am posing next to a pile of hail that had collected on the blue tarpaulin over our kitchen area.

Adjusting our plans to the conditions, we decided not to move camp, but instead to do our portaging route without gear.

Here's my dear friend, Arn, super camper and mastermind of the canoe trip. To me, the smile speaks volumes about his adventurous spirit. You see, Arn is keen on besting nature, where as I am okay with admiring mother nature from a cafe window, particularly during inclement weather.

Unfortunately the kids got so cold on the first crossing we decided to hike a logging road instead of completing the canoe route. This is around the time that Cameron said, "I want to have lunch somewhere with a roof and walls."

Back at camp, this was our shoe drier and kid defroster.

It was terribly glamorous.

But on how many camping trips can you make a snowman? Huh?

Kids are terrific at finding fun wherever they go.

Here's Nel posing next to her tent.

Temperatures dropped to around -5 overnight on the Saturday.

Here's where it was at 11 a.m. when we got back to the parking lot.

This is the gang before we parted ways at the gear rental place.

While we didn't get the weather we were hoping for, we came home with plenty of great memories made in wonderful company, and a lot more confidence in our novice-camping selves.

A Mother's Day Cocktail Party

How are things looking for your Mother's Day?

Will you be sleeping in, eating a leisurely brunch and getting a pedicure? Or reading an entire novel while sipping coffee in your favourite chair?

Didn't think so.

You probably have a busy schedule this weekend and at least some of it may involve celebrating your own mom, step-mom, grandmother or mother-in-law. Whether you're putting miles on the car or just wearing out the floor boards in your kitchen, my guess is that the day might not be all about you.

As some may have read before, I host a party for my friends around each Mother's Day. You can see a photo gallery of one of these here.

The party in the gallery looks pretty fancy, but in the last two years, I've changed this event to a low-key Thursday night cocktail gathering in advance of the big day. Food prep is minimal: I put out crudites and hummus, olives, good cheeses and crackers, and serve hot appetizers baked straight out of the freezer (thank you, Mr. President). Friends bring pretty desserts.

The focus is on the cocktails and conversation, and everyone looks forward to dressing up a little and sneaking out after bedtime for a bit of grown-up fun.

Here are a few pictures from this year's event (all photos by Kelly Smyth).

 

Raising a glass with me (left), Tanya Davies, Erin Billowits and Fabienne Moureaux.

It gets crazy if you give guests too many drink options. In addition to non-alcoholic offerings, we made two cocktails, Kir Royales and Sidecars.

Lego picked up? Check. Lights dimmed to hide grubby slipcovers? Check. Tulips purchased for $10 on way home? Check.

With me here from left, Lisa Murphy, honourary mom and expert lemon squeezer Jennifer Wilson-Speedy, and Kira Vermond.

Irene Tashiro (left) and Juli Belliveau.

Sarah Noonan (left) and Tanya Davies.

It doesn't matter what you serve or what your house looks like (candlelight does wonders, though!). The key is to the gather the people you want to see and share a few spirit-lifting laughs.

So go on! There's still time between now and Mother's Day, or even in the week or two after, to do something that's just for you and your people. Budget-friendly options could include chick flicks and ice cream, a pot luck, or a wine tasting where everyone brings a bottle. You don't even have to host: A night out at the movies, the neighbourhood pub or a restaurant would be quite a treat as well.

Happy Mother's Day!

More inspiration:

More Mother's Day coverage

Mother's Day photo gallery

Recipe finder

Yummy Mummy Club