We can't hide our heads in the sand like ostriches, it's embarrassing, it's complicated but it's very important to address issues related to sex education with our kids .

Not only to prevent unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, but also to talk about love. Values are not something old, something of other times; are the basis on which our social behavior is based .

If the values ​​are the right ones, the risk behaviors are automatically avoided or in any case become rarer. All types of risky behavior, including sexual ones.

Yes: but how do you talk about sexuality with your children?

We should start from the ABC and explain to them how the body works, male and female. How we are made, what happens during adolescence, the changes ... If we adults are open and calm, they will feel more free to ask us questions and doubts and in this way we will be more likely to help them to follow correct behavior and not risk .

If we can't find the right words we can help ourselves with some books ; there are many on the market and some are very well made and designed to help adults deal with the issue of sex education with adolescents.

There is also a lot of material on the net . But these materials we must look for and study them ourselves, as an aid to the search for the right approach, do not let them find them by themselves. These are too complex questions; the answers are good to look for together.

Adolescence is the period in which our children transform and often stop listening to us. It is a period of great changes but, if we have sown well, it is almost certain that we will see the fruits of it. The ideal and, therefore, would be to start talking about issues related to sexuality since our children ask us the question: but how was I born? Generally it happens around 8/9 years.

If we fail to deal directly with the issues of sexuality with adolescents we can use the expedient of: let's pretend to talk about something else. For example, we can provide useful advice and information by commenting on a film or taking inspiration from something they told us or from an event that happened to an acquaintance .

If we are asked direct questions, we always answer ; we cannot gloss over such an important topic. If we get caught up in it and catch us unprepared we can try to take some time, but then we have to give an answer.

If, on the other hand, we are not directly asked, we do not evade the indirect signals that are equally important; sometimes our children seek our attentions to ask us some important questions and we do not even notice them.

How can we keep our children safe from risky sexual behavior?

This, perhaps, is the main concern of every parent who has a teenage child. What we can do, as parents and educators, is above all to transmit clearly, with words and with our behavior, the importance of "healthy" sexuality .

We should explain to them that emotions and emotional relationships go hand in hand with the physical act and that it is fundamental to define one's own values ​​regarding sex. Sexual intercourse must be a conscious choice. And when the right time comes, it is important to know your body well and be aware of safe sexual practices and contraceptive methods.