ER

I watched ER last night(thanks Becky...) and there was an interesting situation going on with one of the characters. Dr. Gates has an adopted daughter around 14 years old who gets a tongue piercing. Throughout the episode Dr. Gates co-worker and girlfriend Sam is encouraging him to talk with Sarah, (after an intern explained that girls get tongue studs to "pleasure the boys.") Dr. Gates finally corners his daughter, who admits that her friends bet her to get the tongue piercing and says that she isn't having sex. He replies that he is 'here for her' and if she ever wants to talk about sex, she should come to him.

I kept muttering "he's doing it wrong, he's doing it wrong..." during the scene. Although I applaud ER for addressing teen sex and showing a parent who is willing to talk to their child, you don't put the ball in their court! You don't make it the child's job to open up this horribly awkward and scary conversation! That's why we call them the child and you the parent! It's your job to absorb all that weirdness and discomfort so that your child can feel safe enough to actually talk. Grr, television.