After reading about puberty, masturbation, pornography, peer pressure, body literacy, and the relationships that shape a girl’s choices, a parent may feel more intimidated than prepared– I’m sorry! How are you supposed to talk about all of this without saying the wrong thing? What if she shuts down, laughs, becomes embarrassed, or asks a question you do not know how to answer?

If there is one question parents ask us repeatedly, it is this: What can I do to help my daughter recognize her dignity and refuse to give herself to someone who does not honor it? The answer is not simply a stricter set of rules. As parents innately understand, formation begins with relationship; not a relationship in which the parent must become the child’s “best friend,” but one in which the child feels loved, secure, and protected. A girl needs to know that even when she

Why Are So Many High Schoolers Having Sex? …Or are they? Parents have asked us this question in many different ways, so I decided to look into the research, and I was struck by what I found. Teenagers often overestimate how sexually active their peers are. That perception may influence some high schoolers to have sex earlier because jokes, movies, social media, rumors, or that “one couple” at school shape their understanding of romantic relationships. They may begin to feel a

As a speaker, I often have the opportunity to stand before rooms full of young people, usually middle school & high school girls, and talk about the awkward topics: sex, birth control, period cramps, pornography, masturbation, and all the other things they desperately want answers about but are afraid to say out loud. Our culture has attempted to overcome the awkwardness surrounding these subjects by turning them into animated videos, casual conversations, and constant jokes.

"I wish my parents had talked to me about sex more intentionally."