Have you connected with your young person lately?
These times may feel overwhelming, but they also provide a unique opportunity to start conversations with young people about critical topics such as sex, love, relationships, and birth control. As a mother I know the importance of sparking these important conversations with my child and I also understand how awkward they may be without a little help.
Beginning May 7, we’re celebrating our 3rd Annual Talking is Power campaign. Throughout the month we encourage champions to have meaningful conversations with the young people in their lives. Whether you’re a parent, guardian, educator, provider, or mentor to a young person, we encourage you to be a champion and join the #TalkingIsPower movement.
Our goal is to help ensure that all young people have the power to decide if, when, and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child. In the coming weeks, we’ll post tools and resources to help spark conversations about sex, love, and relationships. Let us help you be the source of information your young person needs to make informed decisions.
To help you get started we’ve created a variety of content:
- If you’re nervous or unsure about how to start talking with your young person, we’ve written a number of conversation prompts you can use to kick things off. We’ll post new prompts soon so make sure to check back!
- If your young person watches YouTube, try checking out our Talking is Power playlist together.
- You might also find it helpful to read blogs from different perspectives before diving into a conversation with your young person. More blogs will be posted in May.
And make sure to use the Twitter hashtag #TalkingIsPower to see what others are saying and add your thoughts to the mix. Follow the Power to Decide and Bedsider accounts for more tips on talking to your young people about sex, love, and relationships.
You can also share one (or all!) of these messages on your social accounts throughout the month of May to encourage your followers to get on board.
- Young people actually prefer hearing about taboo topics like sex, love, and relationships from the adults they trust most. Learn more: https://bit.ly/2Kutt1p #TalkingIsPower
- Use birth control as an opportunity to bond and open up the conversation: https://www.bedsider.org/features/311 #TalkingIsPower
- Reproductive health is a Latinx family issue too. This May, join us as we show why #TalkingIsPower! Have meaningful conversations with the people you love most—porque la familia es todo https://bit.ly/2G1NoRU Via @WeareMitu
These conversations are important throughout the year which is why we are counting on young adults, champions, and everyone in between to start talking. Conversations about sex, love, relationships, and future goals are key to preparing young people for the futures they envision for themselves. You are the most critical influence in your young person’s life. So, start early and talk often and if you’ve already started, continue the conversation. You’re more powerful than you think!
