If you're a parent considering whether or not to give birth control to your teen, I think there are a few questions that you may want to ask yourself before you do that. The first is whether or not your teen knows about how to have safer sex; there's no such thing as safe sex for teens. No one birth control method is fool-proof. So handing your teen a condom may send them the message that that's all they need to protect themselves. And it may be wise to take them to a physician to talk about other birth control options. You'll also want to talk to them about their plans for the future and what if their birth control plans or protection plans don't work out for them and they do contract an STD or they get someone pregnant or they themselves get pregnant. Research does show that among teens whose parents discussed contraceptive use with them, that those teens are much more likely to use contraceptives the first time they have sex. So whether you decide to give your teen contraceptives or not, do have the talk about it.