Puppy Love, Crushing, and Swerving: Real Talk About Real Life with Your Teens

The number of teens who have had sex remained stable in recent years according to a report released in June from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), Sexual Activity and Contraceptive Use Among Teenagers in the United States, 2011-2015. In 2011-2015 81% of female teens used some type of contraception when they first had intercourse, up from 74% in 2002. In 2015, fewer than six in ten high school students who were sexually active reported using condoms at their most recent sexual intercourse. Condom use among this group increased from 46 percent in 1991, to 63 percent in 2003, but has since declined, reaching 57 percent in 2015. Simultaneously, parents and other engaged adults struggle with effective communication methods regarding sex and teens.

There are two talks – the mechanics and the navigation. We call “The Mechanics Talk – The First Talk. The Navigation of the teen social world and all its nuances we call The Second talk. Have you had the second talk with your kids. We know – some of us haven’t had the FIRST one!

Among never-married teens in 2011-2015, 42% of females and 44% of males had sexual intercourse at least one time, similar to numbers from 2006-2010.

Join Tonya and Denise as they share their challenges with managing the contemporary issues of teens, love and crushing!