Family Communication Resources

FACT SHEET

Stop, Listen and Talk with Teens about Sex

Parents are the primary source for their children's information about sex.¹

Parents and teens agree that the biggest barrier to effective communication about sex is that teens and parents are not comfortable discussing sex with one another.²
According to a 1998 survey, most parents (58%) and almost three-quarters of kids (73%) say they spend less than an hour a day talking to each other.³
55% of 13-17 year-olds agreed there were times when they had something they wanted to talk to their parents about but did not do so.⁴
56% of American teenage girls and 73% of American teenage boys have had sex by their 18^th birthday.⁵

Kids make better decisions about sex when they have all the information they need and when there are no taboos on what they can talk about at home.⁶

91% of girls rated their mothers and 76% rated their fathers as "very" or "somewhat influential" in deciding whether to have sex.⁷
97% of girls said "having parents they could talk to" could help prevent pregnancies among unmarried teens.⁸

Sharing your values about sexuality can help your child feel connected to you, to your family, and your community.⁹

Young people who feel close to their families are more likely to postpone intercourse, and when they finally have sex, they have fewer sexual partners, and use contraception more effectively.¹⁰
67% of teens who had talked openly with a parent about sex would speak to a parent first if they were considering beginning a sexual relationship.¹¹

¹ Adapted from Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., "Let's Talk" www.plannedparenthood.org
² International Communications Research, Omnibus Survey, April 1998.
³ Philips Consumer Communications, "Let's Connect", Philips National Family Communication Survey of 5th-8th graders and their parents, 1998.
⁴ New York Times/CBS News, as cited in How to Talk to Teens about Really Important Things, p. 1, Charles E. Schaefer, Ph.D., and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo, M.Ed. Josey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA, 1999.
⁵ Schaefer, Charles E., Ph.D., and Theresa Foy DiGeronimo, M.Ed., How to Talk to Teens about Really Important Things, p. 96, Josey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA, 1999.
⁶ Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., Sexuality Guides for Families, "What Should I Tell My Kids?" www.plannedparenthood.org
⁷ Chassler, Sey, "Teenage Girls Talk About Pregnancy." PARADE. New York: Parade Publications, February 2, 1997.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., "Let's Talk" www.plannedparenthood.org
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.