1.) Educate. Teach your child sexual education at home in addition to the school program. Make sure to answer ANY questions the child/teen may have. Any room for doubt and questions can too often lead to curiosity.

2.) Make sure that the teen knows the difference between "Sex" and "Making Love" this is very important. Do not treat sex like it is a forbidden fruit. Make sure that they understand that it is a functional and enjoyable part of life and that is better when shared with someone they love and when their bodies are fully developed and ready.

3.) Teach them about contraceptives. Tell them that if they can not refrain from having sex until they are older (and hopefully married) that they use protection every single time.

4.) Be open. Let them know that they are allowed to come to you with their thoughts and feelings on the subject. Let them know that the decision is theirs, it is their body. You will always love them. You may not respect their decisions, but you will always love them.

5.) Have them spend time with an infant. Have them babysit so that they know what babies are really like. Too many times a teen will day dream about having a baby to love them and dress up like a doll. Let them know that a baby is a big responsibility that only a truly mature and ready person can handle.

6.) Try to have them watch a birth. This is good because a girl can see what the experience is like and a boy can see what can happen to the girl he had sex with.

7.) Show your teen statistics. Show them the numbers. . . how many teen parents drop out of high school. How many spend their lives on welfare.

8.) Respect your teen to make the right decision. Let them know that you respect them. Then teach them to respect themselves and that sex does not equal love and the if it was love, then it could wait until they are older.

9.) Teach them about STD's. Show them some numbers on high school and college students who have STD's. Let them know that every time they have sex they are risking their very lives.

10.) It is never to late to start. Re-enforce the things that you have taught your teen at every relevant moment. Have frequent heart to heart talks. And remember that since the day they entered Junior High, their life has been one big media and peer pressured avalanche of sex. Commercials, magazines, songs and even fashion is all completely tailored to the sexual lives of your child. Girls are told they are boring if they are not sexy and that no one likes a tease. Boys are told that they are less of a man if they don't sleep with their girlfriends. It isn't going to be easy but you must at least try and protect your child's childhood. Good Luck.

Learn more about this author, Lindsey Stell.
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