tweens & teens
BY CHRISTINA KATZ
Alcohol, Sex & Peer Pressure:
How To Tackle Tough Topics With Your Kids
When it comes to discussing difficult topics with your kids, your
natural inclination may be to try to avoid the job altogether. But
remember, your children will pay for your hesitancy or embarrass-
ment with a lack of awareness they will need to make good deci-
sions. You don’t want your child making emotion-fueled, spur-of-
the-moment choices about alcohol, sex or peer pressure to try
and prove something to their friends. You want them to be in the
know, be prepared, and know in advance where they stand on
crucial decisions before they get caught in a slippery situation.
W
hile sweet, innocent naiveté
might be a preferable fan-
tasy to parents in the short
run, protecting kids too much can cost
them as they progress through rites of
passage. How soon do your kids need to
be ready to make good choices? Earlier
than you may think—according to the
National Institute On Alcohol Abuse
And Alcoholism, 40 percent of adoles-
cents report drinking by eighth grade,
and 55 percent report being drunk at
least once by 12th grade. Kids who head
off to middle school with a solid under-
standing of how to make good choices
about alcohol, sex, and peer pressure,
can worry less and thrive more.
According to The Mayo Clinic, sex
education is a parent’s responsibility.
And by reinforcing and supplementing
what kids learn in school, parents can
set the stage for a lifetime of healthy
sexuality. Kids rely on parents to help
them make good choices. Eighty per-
cent of teens feel that parents should
have a say in whether they drink or
not. Be optimistic about the positive
impact you can have. Information is
power. It is uncommon for tweens to
start having consensual sex before
the age of twelve, therefore con-
versations about sex need to start
early—likely long before you think
your child is considering the option.
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Ideally, you want to start presenting
your child with basic information on
alcohol, sex, and peer-pressure from a
young age.
The Mayo Clinic also reports that
peer pressure, curiosity, and loneliness
can steer teenagers into early sexual
activity. Therefore, do not delay. Start
talking to your kids about the big three
today. Here’s how:
Start Early. Don’t wait until your
child is facing challenges to start talking
about tough topics. As soon as your
child begins to read, arm her with
books that tackle important topics. Girls
start puberty between the ages of eight
and thirteen and boys start puberty be-
tween the ages of nine and fifteen. This
means if you are going to get a jump
on teaching kids about puberty, you
will begin around the time they enter
Kindergarten. A little bit of information
delivered gradually each year will seem
much less intimidating, rather then
waiting for middle school and dumping
a lot of information on kids all at once.
Cover The Basics. How well do you
understand biology, chemistry, and so-
ciology? When your child hits puberty,
he is going to be affected physically,
emotionally, and within his peer group.
This is especially true if your child is the
first or the last in a group of friends to
hit puberty. You might need a refresher
course before you feel confident hold-