A parent doesn't want to think about their little middle schooler having sex. It's not possible. They are too young at this age. We all want to think so. Do middle school students really have sex? If so, what should we (parents, teachers, etc.) do about it? The media talks about tweens, teens and sex, but how close is it to the truth? We heard of rainbow parties where girls wore different colored lipsticks and took turns serving a boy until they left rainbow rings with their lipstick (Young, 2006). While this may have happened, it is not a common occurrence. Linda Perlstein, who spent a year attending classes at a middle school in Maryland, says the media sensationalizes it. He says that while your child is likely not having sex, he or she is very likely to hear about it a lot at lunch and during the school day (Shreve, 2005). Having said that, sexual intercourse among young people is initiated earlier. Right now middle school students are starting to become aware of their sexual feelings, and some students are starting to act on these feelings. From 1960 to 1991, the fertility rate for girls ages 10 to 14 increased from 0.8 to 1.4 (Lederman & Mian, 2003). It nearly doubled and was even higher in some places. A more recent national study showed that 12 to 15% of seventh graders report having had sexual experiences (De Rosa, et al., 2010). Poor use of contraceptives is believed to be the main reason for both these problems. A study conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control found that 4% of thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds engage in oral sex (Young, 2006). This will affect the n...... half of the document. ..... Amsterdam News, p. 3.Lederman, R.P., & Mian, T.S. (2003). The Parent-Adolescent Relationship Education (PARE) program: A curriculum for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy in middle school youth. Behavioral Medicine, 33-41. Magnusson, B. M., Masho, S. W., & Lapane, K. L. (2012). Early age at first intercourse and subsequent gaps in the use of contraceptives. Journal of Women's Health, 73-79. Shreve, J. (2005, January). The hidden lives of middle school students. 37-39.Sifferlin, A. (2014). Sexting in middle school means more sex for tweens and teens. Time.Com.Urzillo, R. (2007). A school district responds to a book challenge. Library Media Connection, 40-41. Washington Times, O. 2. (2007). DC reflects on comprehensive sex education. Contemporary Sexuality, 12.Young, C. (2006). The big Fellatio scare: is oral sex really the latest teen craze? Reason, pp. 18-20.