Sex & Risky Youth BehaviorsTalking to your pre-teen or teen about sex is a tough job. You may not want to do it. That’s normal. You may have talked to your son or daughter once about sex. You may think that is enough. It’s not. You can’t talk about sex just once. You have to talk about sex lots of times. Or you may think your son or daughter knows exactly what you think about sex. But if you and your child haven’t talked about it lots of times, he or she probably doesn’t really know what you think. Your son or daughter needs to know that you want him or her to wait to have sex. Your son or daughter needs to hear from you that developing a healthy relationship and waiting to have sex is important. Research shows that if parents tell their children to wait, their children are more likely to wait. Indeed, nearly 9 out of 10 (88%) teens say it would be easier for them to avoid sexual activity if they were able to have more, and more open conversations with their parents.28 Many parents think they don't know enough about things like sexually transmitted diseases. This part of the Web site can help. You don’t have to know as much as a doctor or a nurse. You just need to know enough to help your son or daughter make good choices. This part of the Web site talks about topics like sexually transmitted diseases, the risks of early sexual activity, and teen pregnancy. All of the topics in this part of the Web site are listed in the gray bar at the left of your screen. Last revised: May 28, 2008 |