PARENTS & OTHER CAREGIVERS Parents and other caregivers are the primary sexuality educators of their children. They set the tone for what children think and believe to be permissible and acceptable within their family’s value structure, and what healthy relationships look like or should look like. They create environments where talking about body parts and functions are healthy, and where questions can be asked openly. But children need these expectations set early on, and they need frequent reminders as well as opportunities to ask lots of questions. Parents and caregivers set expectations of completing high school, furthering education, and of sexual responsibility and delaying sex until both parties are able to make informed decisions that are consistent with their ability to be pregnant or parenting. Research shows that teens who report strong family connectedness, parental monitoring, and good adolescent-parent relationships have lower rates of teen pregnancy. Effective parent-child communication about sexual activity and contraceptive use has also been shown to reduce the chance of teens becoming parents.
WHAT WE KNOW WORKS
The Power to Decide (formerly the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy) identified ten tips for parents or other caregivers to follow when they want to prevent their teen from becoming pregnant or becoming a parent before they are ready. 1. Be clear about your own sexual values and attitudes. 2. Talk with your children early and often about sex, and be specific. 3. In addition to being an askable parent, be a parent with a point of view. Tell your children what you think. 4. Know your children’s friends and their families. 5. Discourage early, frequent and steady dating. 6. Take a strong stand against your daughter dating a boy significantly older than she is. 7. Help your teenagers to have options for the future that are more attractive than early pregnancy and parenthood. (Equitable access to resources and opportunity has a huge impact on this piece) 8. Let children know that you value education highly. 9. Know what your children are watching, reading and listening to. 10. These first nine tips for helping your children avoid teen pregnancy work best when they occur as part of strong, close relationships with your children that are built from early age.
16 • ntarupt.org
