Continued from Page 2

What do you say to your teens about sex?

Your teen needs to know that:

• Desire is one of the joys and wonders of being human, but it takes a long time to know how to handle it.
• Sexuality is a natural part of adolescence, though it doesn't necessarily mean beginning sexual activity.
• Any sexual involvement should be by mutual consent.

Follow your child's lead. If the conversation is going in a direction you didn't expect, take a deep breath and go there, too. Express your values Kids need to know about birth control, how it is used, and where they can go to get it. Your child may also need direct support in the form of birth control and information and supplies to practice safer sex.

When done in a caring manner, and when it's provided as prevention rather than encouragement, this knowledge and equipment won't cause your child to have sex. Just because they have access to birth control does not mean they'll be looking to use it. Your child knows where the kitchen fire extinguisher is too, right? Is he going around lighting fires?

Every 11-year-old child should certainly understand the male and female reproductive systems—and know how to prevent pregnancy. Stay calm. Don't over-romanticize sex Stress that no matter what happens, you are there for your child. Ideally, you want your child to be able to make smart choices, freely and without pressure.

Discuss the following warning signs

• When they aren't practicing safer sex to prevent STDs, and using birth control to prevent pregnancy. ·
• When they're responding to peer pressure to be sexually active. ·
• If one partner is pressuring the other. ·
• When the partners aren't peers, when they aren't roughly the same age.

Sexual Risk Behaviors

Vaginal, anal, and oral intercourse place young people at risk for HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Vaginal intercourse carries the additional risk of pregnancy.

1. In the United States In 2005, 47% of high school students had ever had sexual intercourse, and 14% of high school students had had four or more sex partners during their life.1  
2. In 2005, 34% of currently sexually active high school students did not use a condom during last sexual intercourse.1  
3. In 2002, 11% of males and females aged 15-19 had engaged in anal sex with someone of the opposite sex; 3% of males aged 15-19 had had anal sex with a male.2  
4. In 2002, 55% of males and 54% of females aged 15-19 had engaged in oral sex with someone of the opposite sex.2  
5. In 2004, an estimated 4,883 young people aged 13-24 in the 33 states reporting to CDC were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, representing about 13% of the persons diagnosed that year.3  
6. Each year, there are approximately 19 million new STD infections, and almost half of them are among youth aged 15 to 24.4  
7. In 2000, 13% of all pregnancies, or 831,000, occurred among adolescents aged 15-19.5

In addition, young people in the United States use alcohol and other drugs at high rates.6 Adolescents are more likely to engage in high-risk behaviors, such as unprotected sex, when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.7 In 2005, 23% of high school students who had sexual intercourse during the past three months drank alcohol or used drugs before last sexual intercourse.1

Abstinence from vaginal, anal, and oral intercourse is the only 100% effective way to prevent HIV, other STDs, and pregnancy. The correct and consistent use of a male latex condom can reduce the risk of STD transmission , including HIV infection.8,9 However, no protective method is 100% effective, and condom use cannot guarantee absolute protection against any STD or pregnancy.

HIV/STD prevention education should be developed with the active involvement of parents, be locally determined, and consistent with community values. It should address the needs of youth who are not engaging in sexual intercourse and youth who are currently sexually active, while ensuring that all youth are provided with effective education to protect themselves and others from HIV/STD infection now and lifelong.

The importance of Parent - Teenager Discussions 10

Teenagers' communication with their partners about sex and their use of condoms may be influenced by the discussions teenagers have with their parents about sex. However, little is known about the process of parent-teenager communication on this topic. Understanding both what parents discuss with their children and how they discuss it may lead to a greater understanding of teenagers' sexual behavior.

Interviews were conducted with 372 sexually active black and Hispanic youth aged 14-17 from Alabama, New York and Puerto Rico. Regression analyses were used to examine parent-teenager discussions about sexuality and about sexual risk, and parental communication skills as predictors of teenagers' discussions about sexual risk with a partner and teenagers' condom use.

Parent-teenager discussions about sexuality and sexual risk were associated with an increased likelihood of teenager-partner discussions about sexual risk and of teenagers' condom use, but only if parents were open, skilled and comfortable in having those discussions. Teenagers' communication with their partner about sexual risk also was associated with greater condom use, but the relationship between parent-teenager communication and teenagers' condom use was independent of this association.

The influence on teenagers of parent-teenager discussions about sexuality and sexual risk depends on both what parents say and how they say it. Programs that foster parent-teenager communication about sexuality and sexual risk must emphasize both of these aspects.

Return to Parent Central

Resources

1. CDC. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance—United States, 2005 [pdf 300K]. Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 2006;55(SS-5):1–108.  

2. Mosher W, Chandra A, Jones J. Sexual behavior and selected health measures: men and women 15-44 years of age, United States, 2002. Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics September 15, 2005; Number 362:21-26.  

3. CDC. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 2004.  Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2005;16:10.  

4. Weinstock H, Berman S, Cates W. Sexually transmitted diseases among American youth: Incidence and prevalence estimates, 2000. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 2004;36(1):6-10.  

5. Ventura SJ, Abma JC, Mosher WD, Henshaw S. Estimated pregnancy rates for the United States, 1990-2000: an update. National Vital Statistics Reports;  Hyattsville, Maryland: National Center for Health Statistics; 2004;52(23):7.  

6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2003 National Survey on Drug Use & Health.  

7. Leigh B, Stall R. Substance use and risky sexual behavior for exposure to HIV: issues in methodology, interpretation, and prevention. American Psychologist 1993;48:1035–1043.  

8. CDC. Male Latex Condoms and Sexually Transmitted Diseases [pdf 115K]. Atlanta: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; January 2003.  

9. Crosby RA, DiClemente RJ, Wingood GM, et al. Condom failure among adolescents: implications for STD prevention. Journal of Adolescent Health 2005;36:534-536.

10. Family Planning Perspectives, 1999, 31(3):117-121

------------------
Please visit the additional links on this page. These companies have been carefully selected to provide you with a relevant resource to the most important issues facing teens and the parenting of teens.