With many schools temporarily shuttered, teens are spending even more time online than they used to. They’re doing schoolwork digitally, connecting with friends using apps…and they may also be watching more sexually stimulating material. If that makes you kinda shriek inside…well, that’s understandable. Your teen using porn isn’t a comfortable idea, and it might not […]
TalkStarter for Teens: What Counts as “Having Sex”?
When we talk about having sex, what, exactly, are we talking about? On one level, this may seem obvious. Most often we mean sexual intercourse: penis-in-vagina (PIV) sex. But if you stop to think about it, isn’t there a lot more to people’s sexual experiences? Is PIV the only thing that counts as sex? This […]
What Good Guys Need to Know about Consent
There’s been a lot in the news about sexual predators like Jeffrey Epstein taking advantage of many, many girls. You may also have heard that a fairly small percentage of college men are responsible for a disproportionate percentage of campus sexual assaults. It’s relatively few people (almost all of them male) make a habit, even […]
Add Romance Novels to Your Teen’s Reading List
When you were a teenager, did you read romance novels? Does your teen daughter read them? Your son? If they don’t, you might want to pick up a couple Harlequin Romances and leave them lying around. They’re a surprisingly useful component of sex education. OK, this might not be obvious. It makes more sense when […]
What Teens Learn from Self Pleasuring
I know, I know…it’s almost too weird to even think about. But you remember being a teen. You remember the sexual feelings that could be so strong, whether or not you acted on them. So if you’re the parent of a teen, you have an idea what’s going on for them, even if, you know, […]
With Birds & Bees, Questions Matter as Much as Answers
It can be hard to talk about sexuality with kids. It’s even harder if you think you need to have all the answers. Good news! You don’t need to know everything in order to be a valuable resource to your kids. Rather than worrying much about information, pay attention to the emotional tone of how […]
TalkStarter for Teens: What Was Hard for You as a Teen
Maybe you’ve always meant to talk more with your kids about sex and dating, but kept putting it off. Now they’re teens or preteens and you know you need to open a conversation, but you don’t know where to start. How can you get beyond the wall of groans, eye-rolling, and “I know all that”? […]
What to Say When Your Kid Comes Out
It’s one of those conversations that’s always a watershed moment. When someone is gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise LGBTQ, there comes a time to tell the family. I’ve never met an LGBTQ person for whom this conversation was no big deal. For most, it’s somewhere between anxiety-producing and terrifying. Will they hate me? shame me? […]
Birds & Bees TalkStarter: The Kavanaugh Accusations
Whatever your views on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and the recent accusations against him, one thing is certain: It’s an excellent opportunity for a conversation with your teen about sex and consent. Some teens may be aware of the headlines; others may be oblivious. If your teen hasn’t mentioned anything […]
Mentioning the “M Word” to Your Kids
So, I can’t believe I almost missed International Masturbation Month. But there’s still time for me to write this post—and for you to use the word in front of your kids.* It’s not as difficult as you might think! (*And, of course, there’s no deadline. This is just an easy way to bring up the […]
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next Page »