What’s your #MySexEdStory?

Are you a parent or champion of a young person and want to talk, but aren’t sure where to start? Here are three conversation prompts and two tips to help move things along. 

Share your story. 

Did you have an embarrassing sex ed experience that could break the ice with your teen? Or maybe an awesome champion who answered all your questions was there for you. Either way, sharing your own story is a great way to begin a conversation about sex, love, relationships, and more! 

Be specific; young people can’t read your mind. 

It’s tempting to talk about birds, bees, and you-know-whats you-know-where. But using concrete examples, the proper names for body parts, and potential real-life scenarios will ensure that there’s no confusion for your young person. Plus, it’ll show them that you respect their curiosity and think they’re mature enough to handle a conversation on these important topics. 

Where would you want to learn about sex?

While research has shown that young people prefer to learn about sex, love, and relationships from a trusted adult in their lives, there are a lot of other sources out there. In fact, recent polling indicates that Gen-Z looks to TikTok before Google to answer their everyday questions. Ask your teen where they’ve looked in the past when they had a question and use their answer to suggest other (similar or more trustworthy) resources. 

Is anything missing from your school’s sex education?

The quality of the sex education that young people receive in schools varies across the country based on state or local laws, school boards, and more. Ask your teen what their sex education experience has been like and see if there’s anything they feel was missing. Their answer can help guide future conversations to fill in the gaps. 

What are you curious about?

You may have an agenda of things you think are important to talk about when it comes to sex but stop and take a moment to check in with your young person. They might have questions about something they heard on TV, from friends, or online. By asking this open-ended question you can leave room for whatever is on their mind right now. 

Stay tuned all month long and check out more tips on how to start discussions about the topics your young people actually want to hear about! Remember: talking is power.