Having "The Talk." Again. And again.
My husband asked me when I am going to have "The Talk" with our three girls.
I told him talking about sex with our teen and pre-teens is an ongoing conversation that I don't schedule. I usually wait til they ask questions, something is going on in the news, or the mood strikes me.
I wasn't surprised to find out I am not initiating these conversations often enough. A study in the current issue of Pediatrics says repetition and depth are the keys to making your kid feel comfortable talking to you about sex.
"Adolescents whose sexual communication with their parents involved more repetition felt closer to their parents, felt more able to communicate with their parents in general and about sex specifically, and perceived that discussions with their parents about sex occurred with greater openness than did adolescents whose sexual communication with their parents included less repetition."
I am guessing that our many rides in the car will be a good place to get these conversations going. The Eliot Spitzer embarrassment is probably a good place to start. It definitely will be messy, but I am going to take the plunge.
Do you have a strategy for talking to your teen about sex?
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