** This thread discusses the content article:
"The Talk" **
"The sex talk is never easy. It's not comfortable for anyone involved - parents are afraid of it, children are mortified by it - which is probably why the Talk so often comes after the fact. In the latest study on parent-child talks about sex and sexuality, researchers found that more than 40% of adolescents had had intercourse before talking to their parents about safe sex, birth control or sexually transmitted diseases.
That trend is troublesome, say experts, since teens who talk to their parents about sex are more likely to delay their first sexual encounter and to practice safe sex when they do become sexually active...."
For the full article, go here: news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091207/hl_time/08599194575900
For parents who want to teach their kids but are not sure if they know enough themselves or are not sure if they can get over their embarrassment enough to be effective, I'd recommend:
-Searching the internet. Don't believe everything you read, but look around some reputable sites. You can brush up on your own sex ed so you can explain it better or you can point your teen in the direction of the sites that you know contain reliable and age appropriate information.
-Talking to a doctor. You can ask a doctor for information or pamphlets to pass along to your child. You can also schedule an appointment so the child can go in to ask questions. In fact, many people recommend taking girls in to see an ob-gyn when they are about 13 to 15 years old so they can ask questions and meet the doctor.
-Email. If you just can't get over the face to face talk, send your teen an email or write them a note. Ask them to write back to let you know they read it or ask questions. They might feel more comfortable that way as well. Because if you're nervous to tell them about sex, they're probably nervous to hear and ask about it too.
-Calling the school. Some schools teach sex ed, but the class may be optional. So if your child doesn't express interest to their guidance counselor and bring home a paper for you to sign saying it's ok for them to take the class, you might not even know it's there. And if your child doesn't thoroughly look through the booklet containing all their class choices, they might not even know it's there either. Other schools don't teach it, often because they don't think parents would want their kids learning it in school. If enough parents speak up, you might be able to change that. 
