Teenagers and Sexuality

Teenage Sexuality

teen2l.jpgAdolescence may be a trying time for you and your unruly teenager. Not only is he or she experiencing a load of physical, mental, and emotional changes, but your teen is also simultaneously going through sexual development as well.

Uh oh! What may be your worst nightmare is becoming a reality. Yes, your child is getting his/her first tastes of sexual drive. The physical changes of adolescence bring along an awakening sexuality, and at first it may take getting use to your teenager showing signs of a thriving libido.

But face it parents! As hard as it may be to picture your child as a sexual being, whether you like it or not, your teenager will feel the hormones raging just the same. With the onset of sexual drive in teenagers, many issues may come. Pre-marital sex comes into the picture, and along with it, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Issues of rape and sexual harassment among peers are also matters of concern.

Communication

Speaking with your child about sexual education and contraception is a must. The rates of sexual activity, pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases in teenagers have been escalating. But what’s scary is that studies have shown that despite the rise of sexual activity in teenagers, awareness of contraception and sexually transmitted diseases is still lagging behind.

Aside from this, your teenager may also begin to deal with issues of personal sexual orientation as well. They are at a stage where their particular preference of sexual orientation may rise to the surface. Issues of homosexuality may be particularly difficult to deal with at a stage where one’s peers have a significant influence over one’s thinking and self-concept. A teenager experiencing a homosexual orientation may have quite a difficult time accepting this as his peers are busy bragging about the latest girls they’ve “fooled around” with.

Providing Guidance

As your teenager begins to get a feel of his sexual drive, it’s your duty as parent to provide guidance. As hard as it may be to have the dreaded “talk” with him/her, be there for your child to offer support at a confusing stage. With an awakening sexual drive, comes many confusing feelings. You don’t want your teenagers to be ashamed of their sexuality, but to embrace their personal development maturely and responsibly. As a parent, you can show how a teenager should responsibly embrace one’s sexual development.

Openness and awareness are two key concepts you should foster in your teenagers. These concepts will be of good use in your parent-teen relationship at this particular stage in your child’s life. By encouraging openness, you are giving your child the go-signal to come to you with his questions about sexuality. At the same time, by promoting awareness you are equipping your teen with the knowledge required to keep one’s self unscathed from teenage sexual issues.
 
  • Teenage Pre-marital sex  ( 8 items )
    Once a teen’s sexual drive is up and ticking, pre-marital sex can easily become an issue that parents will come to face with. Surveys have shown that sexual activity among teenagers has been on a steady rise.
  • Teen Pregnancy  ( 4 items )
    Teenage Pregnancy is an ever controversial issue. Regardless of your moral view point, we give advice on how to help your teen avoid teen pregnancy and what you can do to show support for a pregnant teenager.
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases  ( 2 items )
    If you teenage is having sex already, they are susceptible to Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) -infections passed on by having sex with someone who has an infection.  It’s important that you explain the risk of contracting STD’s to your teenager.

Latest News

Welcome to Troubled teens info.com

We are the biggest and best resource online for troubled teens.  Our site is set to launch in early December 2005.  We will be launching our discussion forum in early 2006. Stay tuned for for more details.

Boarding School for Troubled Teens
If Liz Gorham and her cadre of volunteers have their way, Northeast Colorado will be providing urgently needed help for troubled teens in the (hopefully) not-too-distant future.  Click here for more information

Useful Resources