Written by Andrew Smiler for The Good Men Project. Originally published November 14, 2013.
“Talking about sex with your kids is difficult. In part, that’s because so few of us had good conversations about sex with our parents so we don’t know how to do it. And in part, it’s because most of our knowledge about sex comes from our own experience, stories shared by friends, and what we’ve seen in the media. That’s not how we learn about history, for example. This means there’s a lot of stuff that we know, but most of us don’t have a larger framework for thinking about sex. We’ve got a little knowledge of this and a little knowledge of that and it’s all about sex, but somehow those pieces of knowledge don’t really seem to connect.
…
1. Your values. Part of your job is to help your son develop sexual ethics that will guide his behavior. The most effective way to do this is to connect it to the values you’re already teaching, like respect, honesty, and care. And just like those things may look somewhat different when practiced with immediate family, extended family, friends, and strangers, they’ll probably look somewhat different here.
2. Focus broadly on sexuality. Talk about “sexuality” instead of “sex” because it’s a broad term that includes relationships and a variety of sexual behaviors. The word sex refers to both a specific act and also the broader set of things related to sex and that can get confusing at times…”
Read the rest of the list here. MLNP.tv gets a nod in number 14!
