Consent Is Bae (Before Anything Else)
Regardless of whether your teen is having thoughts about being intimate with their partner or not, it's important to teach them about consent. Intimate situations can leave people feeling vulnerable. Especially if they don't have any information about them. Some things you may want to discuss are:
Consent as a requirement in a relationship, especially surrounding intimacy
Talk about bodily autonomy
How they can reach out (to yourself or friends) about feeling pressure to be intimate
Whether you as a parent want to know if they are being intimate
If you are both comfortable talking about intimacy/other relationship issues your teen may be facing
Use Protection and Stay Safe
Parents, this may be hard to accept or think about, but it must be said. The reality is that your teen may have thoughts about, or pursue, intimacy in their relationships. And that may be a difficult truth. However, even if you think your child would never ever ever become intimate with a partner, they should still be educated about staying safe. This may be the peak awkwardness of your conversation with your teen, but it doesn't have to be. Things to talk about are:
What STIs are and how your teen can protect themself from them
How to use different types of protection and where to find them
Risks surrounding teen pregnancy
Your family's personal beliefs or preferences surrounding intimacy
5. Your Teen Deserves (a Reasonable Amount of) Privacy
Everyone wants privacy sometimes, including teenagers, and maybe even especially teenagers that just started dating someone they are really into. Talking to your teen about respecting their privacy can be a good way of helping take some pressure off of their relationship, because they will be less worried about feeling like parents are trying to pry into their private lives. It's normal for parents to want to know what their child is up to, but the reality is, your teen might not be as eager to share.
Meet Their Partner (When You're Both Ready)
Most parents care about who their child is dating and spending so much time around. Meeting your child's partner can bring you some peace of mind about the situation. In order to show some respect for your child's privacy, talk to them about wanting to meet their partner and discuss how you should go about it. Some ways to do this are:
Telling your teen about why it's important for you to meet their significant other
Allowing your child to have some input about when they want you to meet their partner
Asking them how/where they want to make the introduction
How you should address their partner or talk about their relationship
Whether their partner's parents want to meet you
Establish That There Are Expectations for Date Nights
When it comes to actual date nights, you're going to have questions for your teen, because you want to know that they are safe, as well as having fun. There is a way to balance having respect for your child's private life with having expectations for them. Knowing basic information is important and can keep you in the loop in case your child needs you. Some things you may want to discuss are:
Why you want to know where/when your child is going somewhere with their partner
How long they expect to be gone
What to do if a date is running long and they won't be home at the time they said they would
Why you want to know who else will be there or if they will be alone
Build Trust and Open Communication
To Be Continue Next Part - 4
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