What Teenagers Want to Know: Teenagers often hear advice considering all kinds of their life issues from their parents, other relatives, coaches, teachers and other adult people, present in their lives. However, any of these adults rarely get asked to do this. According to some investigations, which were conducted recently, teens, who were asked the question: “if you could give your parents and other important advice about how to help you and your friends avoid pregnancy, what would it be?” There exist ten main tips, which represent the major themes, which were heard from these teens:
Show and prove to us why teen pregnancy is considered to be such a bad idea
For example, you should let us hear from the very teen mothers and fathers about how difficult it is for them. Of course, most of us do not even think about getting pregnant, still, sometimes, we require examples from real-life experiments in the order we would be motivated.
Have honest talk with us about love, sex and relationships
The thing that we are young yet does not mean at all that we are not able of falling in love or get deeply interested in sex. Any of these feelings is extremely really as well as powerful to us, they really bother us now. Being adults, you are to help us to be able to handle these feelings in a safe way and neither get hurt or hurt anyone else.
It is never enough simply to tell us simply to avoid having sex
Being our parents and / or other adult people, who bother about us, you should explain why you feel so, do not forget to ask our opinion about this issue. It would be useful to know how you felt about it, when you were of our age. It is extremely important for us that you would listen to us and take our points of view seriously. And never – never give us any lectures, PLEASE.
No matter, if we are having sex or not, we are to be prepared to it.
In any way, we must know how unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases can be avoided.
If you hear from us any question about sex and/or birth control methods, you should never consider that we are already engaged in sex
It may simply be curiosity, or we may simply want to talk with someone, whom we can trust. And there is no need for you to think that providing us any information about sex and methods of birth control will encourage us to get engaged into sexual relationships.
We are to be paid attention at long before we get into trouble.
Although there exists a huge amount of different programs for teen mothers and fathers, and most of them are really good, we all still need to have encouragement, attention, as well as support. Being our parents, teachers, coaches, etc. you are to reward us for doing any right thing, even if it is not such a big thing. And you are never to shower us with all kinds of attention only when there is a baby involved.
Sometimes, all it takes not to have sex is not to have the right opportunity.
Of course, you can not always be with us, go with us everywhere. Therefore, you are to make sure that we constantly have something to do, something that we are really fond of, in some place, where there are other children along with some adults, who are comfortable with kids of our age. There are cases, quite often ones, that we get engaged into having sex simply because we have nothing else to do. That is why do not leave us alone and without any engagement for a long time.
We really care about what you think, even if we do not always behave like this
In case if we do not end up doing something that you tell us to do, you should never think that you have failed to reach us.
Show and explain to us what good, responsible relationships really look like
You are to keep in mind, that we are simply as much influenced by how you act like as by what you say. If we see sharing, communication and responsibility in relationships between you, we will become more likely to follow your example.
We have “THE TALK” just as much as you do
Instead of this, you should better start talking with us about having sexual relationships and responsibility when you were young, and keep this conversation going as we become older.
Of course, you may get surprised when you see that teenagers do want to hear from their parents, other adult family members, teachers, coaches and other adults about having sex, as well as about love and relationships. They, of no doubt, do appreciate, they even crave advice, direction and support from all adult people, who really care about them. However, sometimes, from their point of view, adults have to change HOW they offer their help. In other, more simple words, most teenagers want to have real communications with their parents, and neither lectures, nor threats.
