How to Talk to Teens About STDs

Long gone are the days when you could get a prescription of penicillin to get rid of a mild strain of gonorrhea or syphilis. The sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) of today are often incurable and deadly. Teens are more likely to get these infections, and the number of them contracting incurable diseases is growing exponentially. Talking to teens about STDs is absolutely necessary.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Don't be afraid of being explicit about how these diseases are spread and the repercussions of contracting one or more of them. Your child's life is at stake, so talk to him or her accordingly.
2. Explain that STDs can be spread even if the teen is not having vaginal sex. A great number of teens today believe that oral and anal sex is not real sex and that diseases and infections cannot be spread by these sexual activities.
3. Show teens the real numbers of those infected and those who have or are dying from STDs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website has numbers on how many teens and young adults are contracting HIV/AIDS, as well as a number of other sexually transmitted diseases (see Resources below).
4. Take your teens to seminars or programs where they can meet with a person who has one or more STDs and hear how it has affected his life. Sometimes, you need more than numbers to drive your message home.
5. Tell your child unequivocally that you do not want her to have sex until she is an adult, but give her complete information on birth control and condom use, in case she decides to do so anyway. Preparation is key in protecting your child from STDs.

Tips & Warnings

• Talk to your child regularly about sex. The more comfortable you both are about the subject, the easier it is to broach new subjects as they present themselves.
• Make sure you are knowledgeable about the subject of STDs before you talk to teens about it. Today's teens are more sophisticated than ever before, and they may know as much as or more than you. Sometimes, however, they just think they know more. Do your homework and get ready for any questions or concerns.