Parents should share their family's values about sexual behaviors. Teenagers and preteens should be told that the best way to prevent becoming infected with STDs, HIV or becoming pregnant is by not having any type of sexual intercourse. Many parents want to tell their children to wait to have intercourse at least until they are no longer teenagers. However, most children today are not waiting - the majority of Americans have intercourse by their twentieth birthday. Therefore, most parents also want to make sure that their children can protect themselves.
Parents can talk about the full range of sexual behaviors that people find pleasurable.
This means talking to your teens and preteens about kissing, hand holding, caressing, masturbation, and other sexual behaviors that do not involve penetration. Social pressure to try sex and drugs can be very strong for teens. For teenagers who are going to have sexual intercourse, they must use condoms for each and every act of intercourse, including oral sex, anal sex, and vaginal sex. Condoms are very effective at preventing pregnancy and diseases. In fact, using a condom is 10,000 times safer than not using one.