8 Tips for Talking To Your Teen about Pregnancy Prevention

Teenagers constantly say that parents mostly influence their decisions about relationships and intercourse, and not the peers, partners or popular culture. Believe it or not, but that’s true, your teens like to hear from YOU. This can be of great pressure; however it doesn’t have to be.

The following eight tips can help you guide during rational, thoughtful, and (hopefully) a little bit less awkward discussion with the youths in your life about the most awkward subject- intercourse.

1. Discuss with your child regarding intercourse and often (in age-proper ways) and be precise about your family’s expectations and values about dating and sexual activity.
2. Develop a culture of frankness in your family- Be a parent who asks and permit your child to share their feelings without fear of derision or reprisal.
3. Consider your child’s emotions as they are valid, and do not ignore them just because they are adolescent. Teenager’s emotions are very genuine so value your child if you get to know or they tell you that they are in love.
4. Listen more than you talk or as much as you could. From them your words are important, but equally important is making sure that your child feels that their voice is being respected and heard.
5. Discuss honestly with your child regarding love, intercourse, and relationships; you don’t have to be a biology text book. Just be real.
6. Do not assume that, just because your child is asking about intercourse, dating, or contraception, that they have a girlfriend/boyfriend or are sexually active.
7. Explaining your child not to have intercourse is not sufficient. Tell why you feel that it is a right choice to delay intercourse until they are older.
8. Do not quit. Even if your child stonewalls you or appear uninterested in (or horrified by) these conversations, it’s your job as their parent to keep talking. You need to create the trust in them.

As per a campaign designed to prevent teens and unwanted pregnancies, almost 50% of teen mothers and their children are living in poverty.  Only 38% of adolescent girls who have a child before age 18 get a high school diploma and 63% of teenage mothers obtain some kind of public benefits in the first year after their babies are born. Adolescent births affect the entire community in economic and social terms, making community-wide solutions essential.

There are also some things that youngsters need to think about:

• Intercourse has both physical as well as emotional consequences.
• The only safest and best way to prevent pregnancy is not having intercourse.
• Even if you are going to have intercourse, you must use contraception accurately and carefully each and every time.
• Having intercourse at a young age is very risky. The chances of you getting pregnant or getting STI are more likely to be greater than if you wait until you are older to have intercourse.

Teenagers must understand that they have the power to decide if, under what situations and when to become pregnant and those they require to reflect seriously about what they would do in a demanding moment of peer pressure.