Teens Talk More Sex With Their Parents

More and more children are turning to their parents when it comes to discussing about sexual behaviors

Although up until now scientists were worried that children did not turn to their parents to talk about delicate issues such as sex, the situation seems to be quite different.

According to a new Canadian study, most teenagers look up to their parents when it comes to healthy sexual behavior, rather than to friends or mass media. This new study surveyed 1,100 mothers of teenagers and almost 1,200 teens between the ages of 14 and 17. What the researchers discovered was that more than 45 percent of the teenagers involved in the study turned to their parents to discuss this delicate sex problem, in comparison to only 32 percent who turned to their friends. According to the researchers, 15 percent of the teenagers who participated in the study said their sexual behavior was influenced by celebrities.

The most important thing to which the researchers pointed towards was the fact that teenagers who came from a family where sexual behavior was encouraged and who saw their parents as roll models, were more open when it came to talking about sex and they were also more aware of the risks and consequences of sexually transmitted diseases. “Good communication within families and especially around sexual health issues is associated with more responsible behaviors,” said the study author Dr. Jean-Yves Frappier, researcher at the University of Montreal. However, even though the results of the study were in favor of the family, 78 percent of the mother involved said that they did not think their children turned to them when it came to discussing sexual problems. Furthermore, the women said that their husbands did not contribute much to the issue either. Frappier said that parents always tend to underestimate the role they are playing in their children lives. That is why he pointed towards the health professionals who can train parents how and when to talk to their children, in order to develop a harmonious relationship with them.

Still, even though children turn more to their parents when it comes to this delicate issue, there are still some who engage in dangerous sexual behaviors because they see their friends doing it or because they see it on the Internet, on restricted websites. These teenagers are usually highly weak-willed and they are more prone to develop some problems due to their malleability. Still, the parents of these types of children should check in with a health consultant and find out what strategies they can apply in order to get closer to their child and make him or her turn to the right side of the road.11