Talking to Your Teen about STD's and Safe Sex

Kids today are learning about sex earlier and earlier. The biggest problem is: much of the information they’re getting is wrong. I cannot begin to tell you the incorrect and sometimes crazy things I’ve heard from my friends about sex, and much of this was when I was in college. That’s why it’s important for parents to talk to their kids about safe sex. That way, they get correct information from a reliable source. This could not only keep your child from becoming a parent too soon; it could also save their life.

Before you talk to your kids about STD’s and safe sex, go out and learn about it yourself. You can’t teach your child correct information if you don’t have it. Even if you were informed when you are younger, there’s a lot of information and products available now that you may have missed. There are tons of organizations out there ready and willing to inform you and your child about the options. If you don’t know where to get started, check out Planned Parenthood. They generally have the most up to date information available.

While your preference may be to teach your kids about abstinence as the only form of safe sex, this method is generally considered to be unreliable. It may seem that teaching them how to be safe is just encouraging them to have sex, but just advocating abstinence has repeatedly failed to keep kids from having sex. Plus, knowing the dangers of sex may discourage your child from having it.

Some parents may be uncomfortable talking to their kids about safe sex, but it important for them to get the information anyway. If you don’t feel you can talk to your kids, enroll them in sex education classes (a good idea anyway). If you feel your child isn’t responding, you can try to find them a peer educator, or refer them to websites by teens for teens (there are plenty of good ones). Someone their age may be better at getting their message across.

While it may be uncomfortable or hard for you to talk about, you should educate your child about safe sex. This way they can make informed, educated choices about their lives.

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