Kids nowadays are known to grow up too fast. They learn much quicker and know so much more than when a child was born into the world thirty years ago. Information can be readily accessed almost anywhere and anytime, and when a child also has access to this, it becomes much easier for them to find out about things that may be too adult for their young minds.
Preparing your child for adulthood is a great way for him or her to understand the dos and don’ts of society and the world. The parent is the best teacher during their early years, and topics can be anything and everything as children are often readily curious about the events and the world around them. A parent can take advantage of teachable moments in a child’s early life. Take for example when watching television and a scene comes up where the actor is smoking, the parent can talk about what smoking does to the body and how it can sometimes lead to addiction. Take this opportunity to delve deeper and talk about why these things happen and the effects they may have to a person. Children at this stage in their lives will often remember what their parents warn them about as they only look to their parents for guidance.
Educating children about sex and drugs may be hard topics to talk about for adolescents but is also necessary as they need guidance during this developmental stage the most. Keeping an open mind and ear to children will be best as they need that honesty and trust for them to be able to share their thoughts better. At this age, kids already understand the connotation of jail time and fines, and teaching them the importance of this can be a great way to instill the idea of why drug abuse is a bad idea. Teach kids about the various kinds of abuse and make them aware of drug tests and rehabilitation. Allow your children to understand that although drugs are bad, help is readily available.
Sex education, on the other hand, is a much harder topic for parents to talk about to their children. If a parent practices talking to their child about sex early on, and as they get older, a child will feel it is easier to talk about this topic to them. Sex education also promotes body positivity and can help instill family values to a child. Younger children are more receptive to this and will likely bring whatever they learned to heart up until they grow older. Make sure that when talking about sex, the conversation you have with your child is age-appropriate and is easy for them to understand. Slowly but surely, as the child grows older, they will treat this topic as something they can easily talk to their parents about too.
The goal is to educate, not to scare. Education can become a preventive measure for your children to not partake in drug abuse and be more mindful about premarital sex. Talking to your child about these topics will help enforce your relationship with them. It is all about creating a safe space between a parent and child for conversations about these to take place.
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