Keep The Talk Going

Dedicated to Improving Communication about Relationships, Sexuality, and Intimacy

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For Parents of Teens and Preteens

What’s the Right Age to Have Sex for the First Time?

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A lot of people worry that they’re out of step with what’s “right” or “normal” if they don’t do certain sexual things by certain ages. You may think you should “lose your virginity” by a specific age or there’s something wrong with you. (More later on why I put that in quotes.) You may visualize some […]

Mentioning the “M Word” to Your Kids

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So, I can’t believe I almost missed International Masturbation Month. But there’s still time for me to write this post—and for you to use the word in front of your kids.* It’s not as difficult as you might think! (*And, of course, there’s no deadline. This is just an easy way to bring up the […]

How Compliant Should Your Child Be?

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When your 3-year-old won’t get dressed in the morning or your 6-year-old refuses to eat anything but chicken nuggets, you may long for compliance. You want a child who cooperates, who listens to parental wisdom without endless arguing, who just does what you say, dang it. Because you want what’s best for your child and […]

Raising Decent Kids in the #MeToo Era

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You’re trying to raise your kids to be good people. You want them to respect themselves and others. You want them to be responsible, including about relationships and, when the time comes, sex. That was hard enough before; since #MeToo aimed a spotlight on sexual harassment and assault, you may be even more concerned about […]

Do You Want Your Kids to Learn from Porn?

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Maybe you read the recent New York Times Magazine article about a program, nicknamed Porn Literacy, that aims to help teens think critically about what they see in pornography. If you haven’t read it, you should, especially if you’ve got kids over the age of 8. (More later on why I mention that age.) It […]

When Your Body Language Says “No”

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In the recent case involving Aziz Ansari, his date said she used “clear non-verbal clues” to indicate that she wasn’t comfortable with the sexual activities they engaged in. But those clues may not have been clear to Ansari. No one who wasn’t in the room that night can know what really happened. Maybe she was […]

Quiz: Are You a Birds-and-Bees Steamroller?

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For many parents, what’s hard about having “The Talk” with kids is saying anything at all. But for others, the problem can be saying too much. Maybe that’s due to nerves, maybe to enthusiasm that your child is finally asking, or maybe it’s just personal style. Openness and information about sexuality are helpful–unless you get […]