Should you believe the hype? Should you take what adults, even your parents, tell you about the world at face value? Are they always objectively truthful, or do they sometimes bend facts to keep you "safe"? In "bending facts" are they really keeping you safe, or are they just making you ignorant?

These are a difficult series of questions. Sometimes, parents tell "half truths" or leave out details in an effort to keep you safe. Sort of a "tell you what you need to know ONLY" attitude. It is an unfortunate truth of life that some parents, in an effort to keep their children "safe", will embellish the truth about things like sex and drugs (OK, some may even lie). They aren't doing this to hurt you or to be mean and controlling. They are doing it out of a powerful combination of love and fear, and they mean you no harm. Unfortunately, when parents don't equip their children with ALL the facts, harm is exactly what they end up doing.

In the post above the question is asked, "Do you think this was an honest mistake?". I think, sometimes, misinformation is an honest mistake. But other times, there is no doubt that the things you are told are untrue. What I want to make clear is that rarely is the motive for these "untruths" to cause you pain or confusion. Usually the motive is plain and simple love and concern. As parents, we remember some of the mistakes we made as teens. We know how painful they were and how filled with regret we became. In telling you half truths or outright lies, misguided as this may be, our motive is to spare you what we went through (or something worse than what we went through). What we tend to forget is that these mistakes are exactly what shape you as a person and in lying to "protect you" we take from you some very important learning experiences.

I personally feel the truth is a better way to go. I think that in educating teens to all the facts about the things we hope they will stay away from (or at least enter in to cautiously) we have a better chance of keeping them safe. So, not to step on any parental toes here, but I think it is time a few of the most common scare tactics were set straight. But let me warn you, before you jump for joy at this liberating feature, most of what parents tell you about sex and drugs is ROOTED in truth. So be prepared to learn not only the facts, but the reality behind some of the "scare tactics".