Twelve year old Kristin had a secret she wanted to keep from her parents. They just wouldn’t understand if she told them about what she and a 17 year-old neighbor had been doing before their parents got home from work.
But Kristin remembered her health teacher talking about things to watch out for after fooling around – and she feared she was in trouble.
“I think Ms. Wilson called them ‘genital warts,’ or something gross like that,” Kristin thought after discovering some unusual bumps in her private area. “I wonder if that’s what I’ve got.”
When she got off the bus that morning, Kristin headed to the school clinic, where the school nurse advised her what she should do. She could get the treatment and advice she needed, and she could also get the first of three shots that would be a protection against cancer from contacting HPV.
And she could do it all without her parents ever finding out.
While Kristin’s story sounds like a far-fetched horror story for parents, the whole scenario is realistic and is perfectly legal in Illinois.
Find out more at Illinois Family Institute.
