What Families Need to Do to Raise Sexually Healthy Adolescents
To help teens ages 13 to 17 develop as sexually healthy youth, families should

• Clearly articulate your family and religious values regarding sexual intercourse. Express that, although sex is pleasurable, young people should wait to initiate sex until they are in a mature, loving, and responsible relationship.

• Express that we all have a variety of options for experiencing intimacy and expressing love.

• Discuss together the factors, including age, mutual consent, protection, contraceptive use, love, intimacy, etc., that you and your teen believe should be a part of decisions about sexual intercourse.

• Reinforce teens' ability to make decisions while providing information on which they can base those decisions.

• Discuss contraceptive options and talk about the importance of condom use.

• Discuss teens' options, should unprotected intercourse occur—including emergency contraception and STI testing and treatment. Discuss teens' options, should pregnancy occur, including abortion, parenting, and adoption.

• Discuss exploitive behavior and why it is unhealthy and (in some cases) illegal.

• Help youth identify various physical and verbal responses to avoid/get away from sexual situations that make them feel uncomfortable.

• Acknowledge that teens have many future life options, that some may marry and/or parent while others may remain single and/or childless.

• Use inclusive language that recognizes that some youth may be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.