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Rights. Respect.
Responsibility.®: What Parents Can Do
The research is
clear—young people who feel connected to family are more likely to avoid
risky behaviors in adolescence. As a parent, you are the primary educator
of your children. You communicate your attitudes and beliefs in verbal
and nonverbal ways. You share your feelings about sexuality in actions
and words.
There are many things you can do to help your children develop into sexually
healthy adults. Teach very young children the appropriate words for parts
of the body. As they grow older, answer their questions honestly and be
willing to answer their questions about relationships, puberty, and intimacy.
Model
mutually respectful relationships. Talk with your young people about sexuality
and character. Help them understand your values and stress the importance
values play in your life. Remember that developing a self-identity is an
important task of adolescence and youth may at times feel uncomfortable
talking to their
parents about their thoughts and feelings, especially about sexuality.
Work with them to identify other adults with whom the teen can talk comfortably.
- Educate
yourself and be willing, even when uncomfortable, to talk with your children
about issues of sexuality, relationships, love, and commitment.
- Discuss explicitly with preadolescents and teens the value of delaying
sexual initiation and the importance of love and intimacy as well as
of safer sex and protecting their health.
- Encourage strong decision making skills by providing youth with age-appropriate
opportunities to make decisions and to experience the consequences of
those decisions. Allow young people to make mistakes and encourage them
to learn from them.
- Encourage teens to create a resource list of organizations to which
they can turn for assistance with sexual health, and other, issues. Work
together to find books and Web sites that offer accurate information.
- Encourage your faith community to offer a sexuality education program
for young people.
- Actively support comprehensive sexuality education in the schools.
Find out what is being taught about sexuality, who is teaching it, and
what your teens think about it.
- Actively voice your concerns if the sexuality education being taught
in local public schools is biased, discriminatory, or inaccurate, has
religious content, or promotes a particular creed or denomination.
- Encourage your teens to see health care providers for reproductive
and sexual health care and make condoms available in your home for older
teens.
- Support the development and operation of school- and community-based
adolescent health centers. Support the provision of reproductive
and sexual health care at the centers.
- Request an education
program on parent-child communication about sexuality from your
employer, faith community, and/or local PTA.
- Demonstrate unconditional love and respect for your children.
- Sign the petition, "I Support Young
People's Right to Be Responsible."
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