Free Resource: How Do I Talk About Sex With My Teenager?

Credit: Creative Commons (Stuart Caie)

At times in the past when we’ve done a series on relationships, dating, marriage, and sex in our youth ministry, I’ve required students to come with a permission form signed by a parent. We didn’t require the form because I felt like our content required permission from parents to cover the topics we did (although you should always let parents know when you do talk about sex). The reason I required a permission form was because part of what parents were agreeing to was that they would have frank conversations with their teenagers before and during the series. I’m sure that not every parent followed through with what they agreed to in writing, but I do know that it encouraged many parents to have important conversations with their teenagers that they wouldn’t normally have had.

One question I often get when we ask parents to talk with (notice the word is “with” and not “to”) their teenagers about sex is “How do I actually talk to my kids about sex?” Many parents don’t know where to start, how to have frank conversations about difficult issues, or how to foster open conversation with their teenagers. The Fuller Youth Institute has a really cool free resource they've provided online. Kara Powell did a parenting seminar on talking with teenagers about sex, and they've provided the audio online for free. To access the seminar, just head over to the post on the FYI website. Have a listen for yourself, then send the link to the parents in your church.

QUESTION: How do you support and equip parents to have open conversations with their kids about sex?

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