Despite the stress on the importance of sex education among teens, a lot of parents still do not want to talk about them. Sex has always been considered taboo. However, you would not like for your kids to learn about it from other methods or even from other people.
The following tips may make it easier for you to talk about sex education:
Begin the education early. When is the best time to start discussing about it? As early as possible. Do not ever think that your children will find it icky or disgusting. In fact, it will increase the interest on the subject. As a parent, you would like that since they will more likely ask some questions, and you can gauge which aspects about sex they like to know more about. You also have to do the education at such a young age to avoid external factors such as the environment from molding their own beliefs about the subject.
Know what to talk about. Sex education is a very broad subject-it does not just cover anything about sexual intercourse-so you should know what to discuss with your teens. Normally you begin with the physiological and behavioral changes. For example, boys will gradually develop a more pronounced Adam's apple and a very deep voice. The girls, on the other hand, will acquire bigger breasts and will start to menstruate. You may also want to discuss how boys and girls should interact with each other.
Never be afraid to impose your own values and beliefs to your kids. You want them to grow dignified, decent, and productive individuals.
Make the communication line open. Allow your kids to ask questions, no matter how complex or embarrassing they are going to be. As mentioned, it is much better if they hear the answers straight from you than from somebody else.
Never lie. A lot of parents tend to sugarcoat sex education. They try to downplay information, perhaps to make the subject more wholesome and innocent to hear for the kids. Do not do that. Your children deserve to know the truth. You simply have to remind yourself that you are providing your kids information that will help them make the right choices later on in life.
Learn to trust. For some reason, a lot of parents tend to develop certain fears once they talk about sexuality toward their children. You have to learn to trust your kids and yourself that you are doing the right thing.
When you are in doubt, you can use subliminal messages. Some of the affirmations that may be of help are the following:
I trust my children with all my heart.
I believe that I am teaching them the right things about sexuality.
Sexuality is part of life. I should be more open to it.
I am working on being honest and trustworthy for my kids.
You may also want to listen to subliminal messages audio files, especially before discussions or talks, so you would be more receptive and responsive to your children.