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Teen pregnancy is a real problem in today's world. It not only limits your teen's future and options in life, but the baby's life opportunities are lessened by having young, uneducated parents. Follow these tips on preventing teen pregnancy by helping your child find their way through the challenging times of puberty and sexual peer pressure.
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Openly discuss relationships, sex and pregnancy with your children before puberty
Talk to your children before raging hormones influence their decisions. Your child should be aware of and prepared for the changes that will happen to them at puberty. This includes physical, hormonal and relational changes. Discuss relationships, sex and the realities of pregnancy with your children at appropriate times. Puberty and pregnancy should be an open discussion.
Naivety is not always a child's best friend. You want your child equipped with as much knowledge as possible in order to make the best decisions and navigate their way through adolescence. You do not want them experimenting due to curiosity. Your child should know all there is to know about sex before they have to make the choice to be sexually active or not.
During puberty maintain the open and serious discussion of sexuality
During puberty your child's sexuality needs to be an open, two-way discussion. They should not feel embarrassed or judged for the way their bodies are changing and feeling. Make sure your child has access to a support network. They should have other adults or mentors in their life talk with them about the changes they are going through as well as trustworthy friends who are going through similar experiences. Provide engaging and educational material for your child to read through and relate with such as novels and movies.
Your child should be aware of the ramifications of teen pregnancy
Your child should have a reason to avoid teen pregnancy besides parental disapproval or religious rejection. Share real life examples of teens that have had a baby and how it changed their life and shaped their future. Have your teen babysit an infant and toddler so they can experience what it is like to have a child. Help your teen design a smart future that is appealing and realistic to them. Motivate your teen to reach their goals and encourage them in their achievements. Your child should be involved in extracurricular activities that they enjoy and that will help them reach their goals. They should be aware that they would be risking their social involvement and future by having sex, especially unprotected sex.
Sexual education should be more than stressing abstinence
Your teen should become aware of sexually transmitted diseases, methods of sexual protection and the realities of teen pregnancy. Abstinence should be stressed as the only 100% affective way of avoiding sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. However, different methods of contraception need to be discussed even if you do not want your teen to be sexually active.
Often the biggest mistake parents make is only stressing abstinence without discussing contraception methods. Some parents do not want to encourage their teens to have sex and therefore do not discuss protection. However if your child decides to have sex anyway they need to be aware of ways to protect themselves in order to prevent disease and pregnancy.
Discuss the difference between love and sex
The reality is that people who are in love can wait for sex. Stress to your child that while it may not seem this way, anyone who pressures them to be sexually active does not have their best interest at heart. True love waits and respects the other person's boundaries, limitations and reservations. Your child should be aware that anyone who pressures them to have sex does not want the best for them, as they would potentially be asking them to risk their current lifestyle and future goals. Anyone who does not understand this is uneducated in sex, immature and not worth their time.
Stress that you will always be there
A teen should never fear abandonment by you if they were to encounter teen pregnancy. Stress your unconditional love for your child. They should always feel comfortable coming to you no matter the situation.
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