The Importance Of Teaching Your Teenage Child That It Is Okay To Just Say No

This may appear a strange thing to say but a lot of parents do not understand how crucial it is to teach teenagers that dating and sex do not go hand in glove. Believe it or not all too many teens simply presume that sex is a natural part of dating and a quick look at magazines and television aimed at this group shows why this is the case. Do not assume that your teenage children understand the difference between dating and sex and ensure that you clearly communicate this message to them.

Endeavour to teach your children the ins and outs of dating and sex from an early age and reinforce this message frequently. Above all, help your teenagers to appreciate that dating means getting to know other people emotionally and not only physically.

Teenagers will often have a 'one track mind' and you will have to recommend other things for them to do when dating rather than just focusing their attention on having sex. This may appear silly but you will be astonished at how often teens opt for sex as an option just out of boredom and cannot think of anything else to do. So, as odd as it may appear you really will have to recommend things that your teenage children can do to enjoy themselves on a date. If you can get them to stay busy enough then there is a good chance that they will have to say no less often.

A significant number of parents teach their teenage children how to say no to sex and suggest a whole list of excuses or quips. The is fine but a retort only tends to work once and simply brushing off the suggestion with a retort is simply putting the question off in the short term and leaving the door open for the suggestion to come up again and again. The answer is to instruct your child to simply say no sternly and clearly and that, while they may want to give a reason, they do not need to do so and simply saying no ought to be sufficient.

If you find yourself in the situation in which your teen has already experienced sex then you may believe that it is too late to talk to them about saying no. This is definitely not the case. Many teens think that once they have had sex with someone they cannot reasonably refuse to do so again. The mere fact that they have experimented with sex however does not mean that this can simply be 'ticked off' their development list and you have to let them know that they they are free to refuse sex if they feel ill at ease. You should also discuss with them the fact that having sex should always be something important and special and that a lot of myth surrounds the importance of their initial sexual experience.

While teaching your teenagers about the importance of establishing relationships on a lot more than just sex, it is also essential to combine this with instructing your teenagers about safe sex practices. However much you may wish to do so you cannot always prevent your children from having sex. You can however provide yourself with some peace of mind by attempting to see that your teenagers stay safe, even when they choose not to follow your advice to stand stand their ground and make sensible choices.

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