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Parent's Perspective: the Sex Talk with Their Children

In: Philosophy and Psychology

Submitted By vrgist
Words 1695
Pages 7
Parents’ Perspectives: The “Sex Talk” with Their Children

Remember talking with your parents’ about the ‘birds and the bees?” Maybe that

discussion never occurred because your parents’ vaguely skimmed over the sex education

topic or they were too uncomfortable discussing “sex” with you at all. What

parents don’t realize is that talks about sex education with their children can significantly

affect sexual behavior in a positive way. Unfortunately, most parents do not talk to their

children about sex because parents feel it’s a very awkward discussion to have with a

child. ”In a study, published in Pediatrics by Dr. Mark Schuster (author & chief of

general), researchers found that more than 40% of adolescents had intercourse before

talking to their parents about safe sex, birth control or sexually transmitted diseases.”

(Park, Time Health) Though it may not be apparent, kids would prefer to learn about sex

from their parents. This study was done as a wake-up call to parents, who are not

discussing important issues with their children, before unwise sexual choices are made.

“The “Qualitative Study” involved 141 family’s who enrolled in the Talking Parents,

Healthy Teens Program, organized by the University of California Los Angeles/Rand

Center for Adolescent Health Promotion and overseen by Dr. Mark Schuster.” (Park,

Time Health) Separate groups were conducted for mothers and fathers, and for black,

white and hispanic parents. Content analysis was used to identify core themes and

patterns. “Children ages 13-17 and their parents’ responded to questions concerning 24

issues regarding sex and sexuality, including how women become pregnant, body

changes that occur during puberty, how to use condoms and birth control and issues

around homosexuality.” (Park, Time Health) Parents and their children were

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