Blog 2: "The Talk"

As a parent I have thought many times about all the talks I will need to have with my daughter as she grows up.  The one that scares me the most is the sex talk, do I tell her everything about sex and what can happen, or do I sugar coat it and only tell her minimal information.  I have come to the conclusion that telling her everything that I think she needs to know and everything that can come from having sex, as well as honestly answering any questions that she has would be the best approach.  I think teenagers need to completely understand what they are doing in their lives, otherwise they are curious about the unknown and are more likely to want to find out for themselves.

I think that the talk should take place at home where the teen is not going to feel uncomfortable about other people overhearing and where they can feel comfortable being open and asking questions that they may have.  The talk should be had with the teen before they enter high school as the pressures to have sex starts at a young age and most kids entering 9th grade are around the age of 14.  Some of the topics that should be covered with the teen should be the pressures that they may get from boys in their school, what sex is and the different kinds of sex, pregnancy, STDs, and sexting.  I think the parents should search the Internet prior to having the talk with their teen for good references that they feel are appropriate to show them.  There are may sites the discuss teens and sex and may also be a good resource for the teen if they have questions that they don't feel comfortable asking. 

Questions that parents may be faced with that could be hard to answer could be regarding how sex is actually performed and if they themselves had sex when they were a teenager.  Teenagers are very curious and will probably have many questions about everything that is being talked about, but i believe all the questions should be answered as openly and honestly as possible so that the teen gets the answer they are needing and don't continue to be curious.