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Your Teen Is Online. Porn Is Online. Time to Talk?

May 15, 2020 by Jill Whitney

With many schools temporarily shuttered, teens are spending even more time online than they used to. They’re doing schoolwork digitally, connecting with friends using apps…and they may also be watching more sexually stimulating material. If that makes you kinda shriek inside…well, that’s understandable. Your teen using porn isn’t a comfortable idea, and it might not […]

Filed Under: Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens Tagged With: parenting teens, pornography, sex ed, teen sexuality, teens

TalkStarter for Teens: What Counts as “Having Sex”?

April 9, 2020 by Jill Whitney

When we talk about having sex, what, exactly, are we talking about? On one level, this may seem obvious. Most often we mean sexual intercourse: penis-in-vagina (PIV) sex. But if you stop to think about it, isn’t there a lot more to people’s sexual experiences? Is PIV the only thing that counts as sex? This […]

Filed Under: Everyone, Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens, TalkStarters Tagged With: parenting teens, sexuality, teens

What Good Guys Need to Know about Consent

October 15, 2019 by Jill Whitney

There’s been a lot in the news about sexual predators like Jeffrey Epstein taking advantage of many, many girls. You may also have heard that a fairly small percentage of college men are responsible for a disproportionate percentage of campus sexual assaults. It’s relatively few people (almost all of them male) make a habit, even […]

Filed Under: Everyone, Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens Tagged With: college, consent, guys, sex, sexual assault, teens

Add Romance Novels to Your Teen’s Reading List

July 9, 2019 by Jill Whitney

When you were a teenager, did you read romance novels? Does your teen daughter read them? Your son? If they don’t, you might want to pick up a couple Harlequin Romances and leave them lying around. They’re a surprisingly useful component of sex education. OK, this might not be obvious. It makes more sense when […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: parenting teens, sex ed, summer reading, teen sexuality, teens

What Teens Learn from Self Pleasuring

May 14, 2019 by Jill Whitney

I know, I know…it’s almost too weird to even think about. But you remember being a teen. You remember the sexual feelings that could be so strong, whether or not you acted on them. So if you’re the parent of a teen, you have an idea what’s going on for them, even if, you know, […]

Filed Under: Everyone, Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens Tagged With: masturbation, parenting, self-pleasuring, sexuality, teens

With Birds & Bees, Questions Matter as Much as Answers

February 19, 2019 by Jill Whitney

It can be hard to talk about sexuality with kids. It’s even harder if you think you need to have all the answers. Good news! You don’t need to know everything in order to be a valuable resource to your kids. Rather than worrying much about information, pay attention to the emotional tone of how […]

Filed Under: Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens, For Parents of Young Children Tagged With: kids, parenting, sex ed, sexuality, teens

TalkStarter for Teens: What Was Hard for You as a Teen

November 28, 2018 by Jill Whitney

Maybe you’ve always meant to talk more with your kids about sex and dating, but kept putting it off. Now they’re teens or preteens and you know you need to open a conversation, but you don’t know where to start. How can you get beyond the wall of groans, eye-rolling, and “I know all that”? […]

Filed Under: Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens, TalkStarters Tagged With: preteens parenting, relationships, sex ed, teens

What to Say When Your Kid Comes Out

October 9, 2018 by Jill Whitney

It’s one of those conversations that’s always a watershed moment. When someone is gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise LGBTQ, there comes a time to tell the family. I’ve never met an LGBTQ person for whom this conversation was no big deal. For most, it’s somewhere between anxiety-producing and terrifying. Will they hate me? shame me? […]

Filed Under: Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens Tagged With: coming out, parenting, sexual orientation, sexuality, teens

Birds & Bees TalkStarter: The Kavanaugh Accusations

September 18, 2018 by Jill Whitney

Whatever your views on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court and the recent accusations against him, one thing is certain: It’s an excellent opportunity for a conversation with your teen about sex and consent. Some teens may be aware of the headlines; others may be oblivious. If your teen hasn’t mentioned anything […]

Filed Under: Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens Tagged With: consent, date rape, Kavanaugh, parenting, sex ed, sexuality, teens

Mentioning the “M Word” to Your Kids

May 29, 2018 by Jill Whitney

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 […]

Filed Under: Featured, For Parents of Teens and Preteens, For Parents of Young Children Tagged With: kids, masturbation, parenting, preteens sex ed, sexuality, teens

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About the Author

Jill Whitney is a licensed marriage and family therapist dedicated to improving communication about relationships, sexuality, and intimacy. Learn more about her and her practice at Green Tree Professional Counseling.

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