Articles

National Family Sexuality Education Month
10/29/2007

Maybe you have questions about sex but are not planning on having it for awhile. Maybe you've had or are thinking about having sex. Where ever you are in your life when it comes to your sexuality, it is important you have accurate information and support. An important source for this is a parent though sometimes parents aren't comfortable talking about sex with their children. Sometimes they don't know how to do this. Sometimes parents don't talk with their children because they know they don't have enough factual information. If you want your parent to be able to talk with you about sex, perhaps having him or her look at some of the websites written for parents will help them and you! Check them out and think about sharing them.

Facts You Should Know

• Almost 90% of parents want their children to have comprehensive, medically accurate sexuality education.
• 3 out of 4 people in the United States who get the sexually transmitted disease called Chlamydia are teenagers
• Two teenagers get HIV every hour in the United States.
• Every year, nearly 1 million American teenage girls become pregnant, many before they finish school and before they are emotionally, physically and financially able to care for a baby.
• Many teens are confused about their sexuality and deserve to get help so that they can be happy.

The fact is ….learning accurate information about sexuality will help you make the right decisions that are best for you. Your family can help you with these decisions. We hope you will talk with someone in your family when you need support.

Here are some great resources for both you and for parents and families.

Teenwire Article: Talking to Parents About Sex

“Parents can be a really good resource when it comes to sex and sexual health. They can answer questions and give great advice. But sometimes it can be intimidating to approach parents with hard questions. With that in mind, the TAG team came up with some common situations and gave their suggestions for how to approach a parent. Then, they asked their parents to comment on the suggestions. Here's what they had to say”

Family's Are Talking (www.familiesaretalking.org)

Families Are Talking resources include:

• The Families Are Talking quarterly newsletter (available in both English and Spanish)
• Families are Talking postcards with ten tips to help parents talk with kids about sex (available in both English and Spanish)
• http://www.familiesaretalking.org and http://www.lafamiliahabla.org, an informational website for parents and caregivers
• Innovative Approaches to Increase Parent-Child Communication about Sexuality, a publication for educators, professionals, and community leaders

www.ruthinking.co.uk/

“The first time I talked to my mom about sex we were reading a magazine together about pregnant celebrities. It got the conversation started.”

www.advocatesforyouth.org/parents/

“Initiating conversations about the facts of life may be difficult for some parents because they did not grow up in an environment where the subject was discussed. Some parents may be afraid they do not know the right answers or feel confused about the proper amount of information to offer. To help, this section of Advocates for Youth's Web site - Parents' Sex Ed Center - contains all of the information and resources you need to begin talking with your children about sex.”