Many teenagers today are learning to truly understand the meaning of losing their virginity.
If you are a parent of a teen, talking about sex is something that is not often done easily. You want him or her to have all the information about bodily changes and about dating and relationships, but you don’t want to encourage sexual activity at a young age.
Choosing Abstinence
Many teens today are simply choosing abstinence because they have been educated about sexually transmitted diseases and have seen the effects of teen pregnancy in their own environment. Sometimes one of the most powerful motivators for teens to abstain from sex comes in the form of a young pregnant girl in their own school. Many teen are choosing to express this decision by wearing “Worth the Wait” rings, bracelets and other indicators that they plan to remain virgins.
Abstinence Education
There are non-profit organizations dedicated to teaching teens about abstinence. Teen Aid whose slogan is “Abstinence is saying yes to the rest of your life” offers many educational materials and informational resources about teen abstinence. Abstinence Education (for example, you can visit abstinenceeducation.com) materials are available from a variety of resources.
Teen Health
If your parental position is that abstinence is all teens need to know about sex, check out teenshealth.org where you will find a description of abstinence and how it is the safest and obviously most effective form of birth control. The Teenshealth page also has valuable information about other areas of teen health including bodily changes and maturation, avoiding drinking and drugs, and other key teen issues.
Personal Choice
One thing to remember about promoting abstinence with your teen is that he or she is ultimately going to make this decision for him/herself. With teenagers, it is important to remember that their virginity belongs to them and ultimately, no matter how parents may feel about the issue, they will be the ones to make this important decision. Giving them all the information about their sexual choices is the most proactive thing parents can do to encourage their teens to make good decisions that affect their lives in a substantial way.
Sometimes the best way to learn more and encourage teens to learn more about abstinence and other sexual issues is by researching through books and websites, since talking to teens about sex can be awkward. One effective method is to find a website you'd like your teen to see and forward the link to him/her.
Here are some excellent teen sexuality websites.
Learn about teen pregnancy in the United States.
Read more about parenting teens.
