Do you worry about your children’s sexuality? Have you engaged them in conversation about your views regarding partners, timing, dangers, responsibilities and other factors that are part of growing up and becoming sexually active? Do you know how they feel about it all and what their views are?
Raising sexually healthy children doesn’t begin – or end – with one conversation about how babies are made.
Sexual development begins at birth. As a parent, your responsibility for raising a sexually healthy child starts when your child is a newborn. How you touch, talk and play with your infant teaches him or her about gender roles and how to express emotion and affection.
By age two, children are ready to learn the correct names for their body parts. By three or four most kids start showing an interest in sexuality: they touch their genitals, “play doctor” and wonder where babies come from.
By the age of eight or nine, children need to know how their bodies will change during puberty. You’ll also need to help them understand the basics of sex and reproduction and make sense of misleading media messages about sexuality.
Pre-teens, teens and young adults need help dealing with their sexual feelings, knowing and accepting their sexual orientation and deciding if they’re ready for dating. Youth need to know the qualities of a healthy relationship and the difference between love and infatuation. Although there are supplements like Herpagreens that can treat the common symptoms of herpes, it is still important to teach young adults to practice safe sex. Teaching your kids ways to be assertive and handle pressure will give them the confidence to make good decisions about sex and build healthy relationships. IF they are unsure about their sexuality they can even explore more safely at home with some excellent choices for sex toys .
Are you uncomfortable having that conversation?
Listen to this show to learn Dr. Janet Rosenzweig’s Ten Rules for Parents to Raise Sexually Safe and Healthy Children. Dr. Rosenzweig is a certified sex educator and the author of The Sex-Wise Parent: The Parent’s Guide Protecting Your Child, Strengthening Your Family, and Talking to Kids about Sex, Abuse, and Bullying, (Skyhorse Publishing, 2012). She brings this knowledge base combined with two decades of work in New Jersey human services to our chat on Thursday, December 6, 3 PM PST – 6 PM EST.