Teenagers want Parents to Discuss Issues of Sexuality with Them

                                                   

A sex wise family

Parents are always apprehensive of the fact their teenager could indulge in sex and before you know it your doubts are confirmed when you find packets of condoms and birth control pills in their room. 

How does a parent approach a teenager and tell him/her the need for safe sex? How do you warn them about the consequences of teenage pregnancy? What is the best approach to inform them about sexually transmitted diseases?

Most teenagers tend to learn about sex from sources other than their school and parents and this leads them to have preconceived ideas about it. As a parent it is your duty to start discussing sexuality issues with your child before he/she approaches teenage period. 

Your immediate reaction when you come to know that your teenager has been indulging in sex behind your back is to scream and take become very angry. This type of reaction may not help much. Your option will only succeed in creating rebellion in the child who may probably end up doing what will make you angrier by indulging in it more number of times than before.

Although most parents are uncomfortable talking about sex even with adults so the question of discussing sex issues candidly and in the right perspective with their teenagers just does not arise. It is this kind of parents that are more shocked when they come to know that their teenage child has been having sex. 

Parents should also note that talking to their child about sex is not and should not be a onetime affair, it is also not what you do on a particular day and then forget all about it. 

Your teenager could come up with a lot of questions about sex that he/she feels are appropriate to ask; and it is your duty as a parent that you should answer all their questions in a very candid way, and in the language they understand and not just confuse them with adult talk. 

You as a parent should address the physical and emotional perspectives of sex while talking about it to your teenager. Avoid indulging in a long lecture or stating the do's and don'ts of sex.

It is interesting to note that most teenagers are more comfortable with either one of the parents and if your teenager happens to be a girl you as a mother can talk with her about the consequences of indulging in sex at an early age that apart from pregnancy, her career pursuit could be truncated etc.

Then as a father you could have a discussion with your son about sex and its consequences at an early age which include derailing him from his studies. Teenagers prefer talking about sex with their respective gender parents as the awkwardness is less then.

If you do come to know that your child has already indulged in sexual activity then you need to make him/her realize the importance of love in a relationship and all there is in a relationship is not sex. You will need to approach the whole thing in a mature way and inform him/her that there will be consequences of sex, which at such a young age they might not be able to understand correctly.

You can also provide them knowledge about AIDS and other deadly sexually transmitted diseases that could prove life threatening. Most teenagers succumb to pressure from their peer group and your role, as a parent is very important because you can give them the necessary confidence to stand and handle such pressure. 

Sexuality is a beautiful aspect and you, as an adult must make sure that you provide your teenagers with adequate knowledge by communicating with them and removing any sort of misconceptions that they might have harboured regarding it.