Show 48: The Sex Talk
Parents dread it and kids would rather hear it from others, yes, we’re talking about the sex talk. But did you know – caregivers who learn how to speak with their children are helping their kids to be healthier individuals. Research has found that more teens would prefer to get information about contraceptives from their parents than from a health center, class, hospital, media or friends, and studies show that adolescents who feel open to discussing sexual health with their parents are more likely to delay initiating sexual intercourse.
IN-STUDIO GUESTS: Our guests Katherine Huffman, a healthy sexuality educator and Chris Reynolds, a Licensed Professional Counselor specializing in sex therapy join guest host, Kathleen McCoy, to talk about talking about sex – how and when to discuss it within the family.
DID YOU KNOW? As part of Let's Talk Month, the results of the poll titled Let's Talk: Are Parents Tackling Crucial Conversations About Sex? were released yesterday. Here are some of the findings:
- 43% of parents say they feel very comfortable talking with their children about sex and sexual health.
- 57% said they only feel somewhat comfortable or uncomfortable talking to their children about sex and sexual health.
- 93% of parents feel confident about their ability to influence whether or not their child has sex.
- 64% say their own mothers and fathers did a poor job educating them about sex and sexual health.
FEATURED STORIES:
Teens Talk Sex - Our young colleague, Kelsey Hernandez, from the Alaska Teen Media Institute recently asked her peers about their attitudes towards sex.
STD Testing & Teens - Getting tested and treated for an STD can be as easy as visiting a local public health clinic, but what if you can't get to a clinic? Johns Hopkins University introduced a mail-order STD test kit in 2004 via iwantthekit.org and now the program has come to Alaska, offering another way in addition to the existing places for teens to get tested like the POWER Teen Center. Sarah Gonzales has the story.
Staying Safe in Romantic Relationships - A group of Alaskans is working to make respect and non-violence a part of the conversation coaches and other mentors have with young people - especially boys - who are in romantic relationships. Jessica Cochran has more.
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  This show is made possible by the Association of Alaska School Boards’ Initiative for Community Engagement, an initiative funded by the US Dept. of Education to provide Alaskans with information, tools and assistance to work together and engage in the shared responsibility of preparing Alaska’s children and youth for the future. |
Response from Chris Reynolds
Response from Chris Reynolds to AF:
"This is a question that comes up often in parent workshops, AF, I'm glad you asked it. From my perspective, open communication about sexuality is appropriate between fathers and teenage daughters as well as between mothers and teenage sons. In fact, the opposite gender parent may be able to be helpful in ways that the same gender parent is not. For example, a father may be in a better position to help his daughter understand the world of boys. A mother is in a unique position to help her son develop respect for women. Keep in mind that fathers are the original model for what the child/teen (both genders) can expect from other men in their lives. Mothers are the original model for what their children can expect from future women. If we want our children to expect open communication with others of our gender in the future, we have to model it today. A good parenting relationship can also be the foundation of discussions regarding more explicit sexual issues such as birth control, what the kids in school are doing these days, or sexual decision making. Open communication between parents and teens is just good parenting, regardless of the gender of the parent or child."
Question via email from AF-
Question via email from AF-
"Are conversations about sexuality between a teenager and their opposite gender parent indicators of healthy open communication or is there an age at which sexually explicit material becomes inappropriate to discuss between opposite gender teens and parents?"
Comment via email from Jack -
Comment via email from Jack -
"I recall a wonderful program on PBS several years ago about sex education in Seattle and Copenhagen. Sex education was much more comprehensive in Denmark and much more open in society and family. Consequently, teen pregnancies and STDs were much, much lower than in Seattle, which one would think was a fairly open-minded, forward-thinking city.
What is more interesting is that when I was in Denmark this summer, a newspaper article talked about how more and more young Danes, male and female, were starting to identify themselves as "prudes", a word I'm certain has much less stigma in Denmark. Recent polls showed that as many as 15% of Danish youth were deciding to not have sex until later in life, marriage, after finishing education. As I recall, this was markedly higher than several years ago, and this is despite the open attitudes about sex and very comprehensive sex education. Interesting."