First, I made sure they had a thorough understanding of consent and safe sex from a young age. When they expressed a desire to have sex, I took my kids to planned parenthood for the free condoms and encouraged them to consider pairing condoms with another form of birth control.

Take them to Planned Parenthood to get birth control.

"Mom, that was hilarious!" daughter Claire, 28, said recently. "I tell this story to all of my friends."

At age 18, when Claire went to college she negotiated to have an on-campus apartment instead of living in a dorm. I collected donated and cheap items she would need- from sheets to toilet paper- lining up bags in my living room.

At Family Planning, I got 100 free condoms. Separating the condoms, I sprinkled condoms in Claire's bags, shaking them to the bottom. Said nothing.

Claire took a more sheltered friend to help set up her apartment. Claire called her father, appalled:

"Dad! Do you know what Mom did? Mom put condoms in my bags!"

To his credit, Terry laughed and said lightly, "You know your mother."

Two weeks later, when Claire would speak to me again, she called.

"Claire, I'm not encouraging you to have sex with 100 boys," I explained. "You need to protect yourself from getting pregnant and STDs. Share them with your friends at college."

"How long have I been telling you that you will NOT be a pregnant teen or teen parent?"

"Since birth," Claire replied ruefully. We laughed.

Give the boyfriend an ultimatum he can't refuse.

Pay no attention to the church. Teach your daughter to protect herself. The church just wants to keep women in their “place” making little catholic soldiers. This is between you and your daughter.

I made sure my kids were reading illustrated, beginning books on human reproduction when they were five, and after that, whenever they went to the local library for books. I wanted the sex subject to be boring to them, not some big exciting secret that older kids could use to manipulate them.

I told my daughter when she was eleven to never allow men to have unprotected sex with her, or to ejaculate in her, no matter what he says. I said that most men want to have sex with most women-no matter what their age, so it's not flattering if a boy wants to have sex, and to remember that she is always in charge and should be calling the shots.

The men are the beggars, and she should NEVER do anything sexual to "keep" a boy.

My kids didn't become sexually active until 18 years old, in which case, it was their business, not mine.

My daughter must have remembered what I said because she never became pregnant and when she was living with her boyfriends, she'd dump them if they began hinting about having children. She also dumped boyfriends who began pressuring her to marry them, and has started her own art business.

I'd take her to the health department or a doctor and have a 3 year implant put in.

I give her several hand fulls of condoms. The female condom.