Urging parents to make sex and relationships a part of everyday discussion, a report commissioned by the British department for children, schools and families, warned that breakdown of conversation in the home had contributed to surge in teenage pregnancy rates because it left youngsters vulnerable to influences from peers and the media.
“Parents should feed off the everyday and broach conversations about sex and sexual education as part of wider discussions. This provides a springboard for parents to communicate their values as well as helping teens challenge their own beliefs,” a British tabloid quoted the report, by teen agony aunt Anita Naik, as saying.
It said they should look for possible discussion topics on TV, such as Ian Beale on ‘East-Enders’ confronting his daughter about her boyfriend, only for her uncle to find her planning to have sex. Pregnant Hollyoaks character Amy Barnes, 15, could help parents discuss the realities of having a baby at a young age.
The report said parents feel happier discussing the threat of drugs and gang culture than initiating discussions about contraception and sexuallytransmitted diseases. It pointed out that a majority 55% of parents held back conversation about sex and relationships b cause of embarrassment.
According to the report, children were most receptive between the ages of 11 and 14, after which it may be too late to start. Even as attitudes to sex have changed “dramatically”, the growing influence of technology on children had created a generation gap, the report said. It advised parents to read teenagers’ magazines to reduce the gap so that they could easily start conversations with their children about the facts of life. AGENCIES
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