It may be natural to fear that if you talk with your kids about sexuality, they will go out and experiment with sex. Yet research and our own experiences prove otherwise.
Recent studies show that “adolescents who are well informed and comfortable in talking about sexuality with their parents are most likely to postpone intercourse.”1 The Journal of Adolescence reinforces this same conclusion: “Youths whose parents talked to them about right and wrong with regard to sexual behavior were significantly more likely to be abstinent than peers whose parents did not.”2
Many parents think that talking about sex encourages it, yet “withholding information until you think your child is ‘ready’ can increase the chance that children will explore more on their own, go to others with less knowledge or different values than you, or accept inaccurate information as fact.”3
Research done by the Campaign for Our Children found that “when parents teach their kids the facts about sex, their kids are
• less likely to have sexual intercourse as a teen;
• less likely to become pregnant or get someone pregnant as a teen;
• more likely to talk to parents about important issues in his or her life.”4
Commit very early on to always be honest, loving, and open with your child about God’s wonderful gift of sexuality. You won’t be encouraging sexual promiscuity—you will be helping to discourage it.