by Angela Hill

Created on: July 17, 2008

If you are the parent of a teenage girl you need to talk freely and honestly. As a parent you keep the lines of communication open, and be available at all times. Your teens sex education is not the responsibility of the teachers, guidance counselors, peers, neighbors,or your minister.

A good age to start talking about sex would be around the age of twelve or thirteen. I say this age because girls display lots of maturity, and you want to have your talk before they are influenced by their friends.

A good opening topic would be menstruation, and what changes your body goes through. Teach your daughters what they can expect monthly, the products to use, and the need for extra cleanliness. Let them know that once they start having a menstrual cycle, if they become sexually active they have a great chance of getting pregnant.My next topic would be birth control. This is where you discuss all the different forms of birth control, the availability, the risks associated with the use of birth control, and if you suspect they might be sexually active you could see what form might be right for them.

A lot of parents live in an unrealistic world, and think their daughters aren't having sex. I'd rather confront the issue now, and deal with it then nine months down the road. This might be a perfect time to mention abstinence. The meaning of abstinence is the practice of avoiding sexual intercourse. The society we live in today makes teens curious about sex. They see MTV videos, and see how the young women dress. Times aren't like the 80's , some twenty some years ago. My mother never had a talk with me or my sister about sex or any of these issues. When I was in grade school I remember being ushered into the auditorium, and all the girls were present, and we discussed what was going to happen to our bodies in the near future. The boys were taken to another room for their sex education. I think women from my generation had to be very stupid in those areas

Another topic would be to talk about all those misconceptions and myths about sex that I grew up hearing from family members. Prior to your talk with your daughter you might go to the library, the health department, your gynecologist or do a search on the internet for information and ways to talk to your teen. Some parents dread having "the talk", but I find it to be a way to become even closer to my teen. While you're having this talk you could talk about annual breast exams and pap smears. Every sexually active woman should

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