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The Sex Talk: Mom and Dad Are Giving It Too Late

Study finds 40% of teens have sex before having 'the talk'

By Jen Paton,  Newser User

Posted Dec 7, 2009 12:42 PM CST
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(Newser) – We may be letting awkwardness get the best of us: More than 40% of teens have had sex before their parents talked to them about it, finds a new study. Parents and teens from 141 families were quizzed separately on 24 sex-related issues: Forty percent of girls said they didn't talk about how to refuse sex before engaging in genital touching. Similarly, 70% of boys said they had not discussed how to use condoms with their parents before having intercourse—but only 50% of parents said they hadn’t discussed it with their sons, reports Time.

“Parents think they had a conversation, and the kids don't remember it at all," said a doctor. But kids who do talk with their parents are likely to delay sexual activity and play safe when they do. As for the right age to have the talk, "go earlier than you think," says the study's co-author.

Some 40% of teenage girls said they hadn't talked with their parents about how to refuse sex before engaging in genital touching with boys.
Some 40% of teenage girls said they hadn't talked with their parents about how to refuse sex before engaging in genital touching with boys.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 20 comments
bewilderbeast
Dec 8, 2009 12:45 PM CST
Love him, Gapva. And well done.
bewilderbeast
Dec 8, 2009 12:43 PM CST
Agree. I'd say spell it out clearly as soon as your kids start asking questions about ANYTHING. Once they're curious, GO. And be clear: "Don't let anyone touch you here, on your fanny. Say NO out loud. Remember boys will want to touch you but once they have, they will tell everyone and then they'll tease you and not play with you again" - and so on, more and more explicitly each time. And even more as they get each year older. They'll shut you up when they get bored with it.
Zegan
Dec 8, 2009 8:03 AM CST
dont just talk at them talk with them, that way if they feel pressured they know they can talk to you. Also when their young dont give them bull shit about where babies come from, tell them the truth about everything, its better for them to know you wont lie.

 
teen sex • premarital sex

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