My litmus test for finding a pedi in the US (it's a useless q in Singapore) was "What would you do if Elanor came to you and asked for birth control when I'd explicitly said no." The correct answer, for the record was "write the prescription anyway and try to get her to talk to you about it."

I have written volumes on my sexblog about the absolute pathetic mess that is sex ed and teen sex awareness in this country. I will only say that I have taught in a classroom with a pregnant 13 year old...and that was more than enough to convince any doubts I had about the need for easy and free access to bc regardless of age. Protect yourself first, then we can talk about whether you should or shouldn't be having sex (are you doing it because you're pressured to, because you feel you have to, or because you want to...things like that).

My daughter is approaching 2 (yes, and that was still my litmus question) and as we potty train I'm using the correct words for her anatomy. I practically burned "Once upon a potty" (the classic storybook for potty training kids) because it had the line "I make pee pee with my wee wee" and I just about vomited. I hope that as she ages we'll be able to have conversations about sex, birth control and the difference between empowerment and false empowerment disguised as bubblegum pop. Or barring that, that I can sneak in and bookmark Scarletteen on her laptop (or the equivalent in 15 years).