Equipped with the right tools, parents can talk effectively with their teens about sex.
A recent study evaluated the program, Talking Parents, Healthy Teens, which teaches parents how to get past their own fears and communicate effectively with teenagers.
The training includes teaching parents to recognize teaching opportunities in everyday situations, use creative opening lines, and identify their teenage children's conversational roadblocks, as well as how to listen to their children without interrupting or starting to lecture, and how to teach their children decision-making skills, assertiveness skills, and self-confidence.
Parents found that when they put these techniques into practice, their teenage children actually engaged in a real conversation with them on a number of topics, including sex, love and relationships.
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The teenage children also had positive reactions to the material and techniques.
Study leaders are encouraging businesses to consider offering the material at lunch time to employees who are parents.
Discussion Starters What are your reactions now when your parents try to talk with you about sex and other personal issues? Why do you feel you react the way you do? What would your reactions be if your parents put some of these techniques into practice? How much responsibility for healthy communication do you think you should own as the child?
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