by Jane Allyson

Created on: September 08, 2008

When I was a teen and someone had asked me that question I would have answered that I would be ready for sex after I had met somebody who I could commit to, and preferably after I had become married to someone. In the end, as I found out as a shy seventeen year old, overwhelming passion and the throes of first love, soon outweighs any sensible considerations.

In my experience, I can say that teens rarely know when it is the best time for them to have sex. Often they are taken off guard by the surge of powerful hormones raging throughout their bodies as Mother Nature begins the last stages of their physiological maturity. Coupled with high emotion and relentless peer pressure, many teens crumble and lose their virginity before they are really ready for their first sexual encounter.

Choosing the right time to have sex is very important to anyone, and each person will have different criteria when making that decision and will react in a unique way to certain scenarios. Sometimes a teen may feel that their body is ready for sex, yet at the same time they may not feel emotionally ready or they may fear the consequences, such as getting pregnant or catching an STD.

The decision not to engage in sex too early may come as a result of moral factors, religious belief, the attitude of the family and personal values. By keeping calm and listening to the common sense of such guidance, may well help a youngster resist the temptation of getting involved until they feel that the time is finally right for them.

One way that a parent can help in making such decisions is to give the teen a realistic view of the consequences what having sex can mean, and by not being too judgemental or moralistic, will encourage their teen to approach them for well needed advice when certain situations become critical.

Each person is an individual and will react to certain situations in their own way. What may be right for one person is usually different for the next.

Teens are under so much pressure nowadays. It is easy for them to start having sex to help them fit in with their friends or make them appear much more sophisticated and grown up than they really are. It may help a person to remember that true friends take you for who you are and don't need to be impressed. In fact, with the media being such as it is and portraying sex as being exiting and liberating, it can often be your teenagers' friends who can offer a cautionary word when it really matters.

Not all peer pressure has to be seen in a

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