Dad's Guide to Talking to Daughters About Sex, Drugs and Growing Up

When you are a dad it is difficult to think about your little girl having sex or doing drugs, but at some point in their teen years, your daughters are going to be confronted with plenty of opportunities for doing both. As a parent it is your job to make sure that they have the information that they need and the moral support to make the right choices. This is why it is very important for you to talk to your daughters about both sex and drugs.

When To Talk About Sex and Drugs

It is important to give your daughters the information that they need to make good choices about sex and drugs before they actually need it. This means that you need to talk to them about these topics when they are preteens. Talking sooner rather than later will actually make the conversations less embarrassing for everyone involved.

Conversation Starters

There are lots of ways to start a conversation with your girls about sex and drugs. A good way to start is to take advantage of their natural curiosity. When your daughter comes to you with questions about drugs or sex take advantage of this moment to have an actual conversation about the topics instead of just giving them a short answer. However, make sure you format your talk so that it is age appropriate.

Another way to start a conversation about sex and drugs is to use movies and television as your in. In these situations you can talk about a situation that was portrayed on television or in a movie. You can then ask your girls if they have any questions.

A less formal way to start a conversation with your daughters about sex and drugs is to tell them a story from your own past. You can talk about good moments, bad moments and how these events impacted your life. Be honest about your own shortcomings and help them learn from your mistakes.

When permission slips come home for sex education you can use it as an excuse to talk about things. For example, you can sit down at the kitchen table and ask your daughters if they have any questions about sex, drugs or anything else about growing up.

Finally, when relationship troubles start to percolate in your home with your daughters be there to comfort them and to talk about love, sex, drugs and other things that make growing up a challenge. Be a good listener and give them the benefit of your experiences, and your male point of view. You can help them out a lot by answering their questions about why boys are mean to girls that they like (preteen) and what they are thinking about. You can also tell them that boys are just as nervous about being rejected as girls are.

References

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