Teen Pregnancy Interview with Author Annie Fox Part II

This is part IV in a series on Teen Pregnancy. In Part III Annie Fox who is an educator, award-winning author and trusted online advisor took time out of her busy schedule to speak with me. Annie was kind enough to spend a lot of time with me so I have broken this interview into two parts. I asked her questions relating to teen pregnancy and what we as parents can do to help stop this growing trend. Here is the conclusion of my interview.

Cynthia Springsteen: What do you think if anything the parents of today should be could be doing to change these horrible higher and higher statistics that we have in this country regarding teen pregnancy's.

Annie Fox: Make sure you arm your daughter and your son with your values when it comes to relationships. Make sure you walk the walk when it comes to relationships. Be the kind of parent your tweens/teens can talk to about ANYTHING! That means creating a safe environment so that you honor their questions, with truthful answers and you honor their journey toward adulthood by really LISTENING when they speak to you. That's the only way you can begin to UNDERSTAND where they're coming from and what they need.

Cynthia Springsteen: That is truly excellent advice Annie! It has to start in the home! What would you say is an ideal age to begin having these talks?

Annie Fox: Even if parents have not been as open minded and "safe" to talk to in the past, today's a new day. Start today, acknowledge what you've not been delivering and apologize to your teen. Then lay down the framework for a new set of communication standards... respect, honesty, compassion, empathy, understanding... Model these in the way you talk with your kids and it will pay off! These "talks" about friendship and healthy relationships begin as soon as your child is old enough to understand the concept of a friend. The word friend is part of boyfriend and girlfriend for good reason. What we teach our kids about being a good friend and requiring our friends to meet the same high standards will travel with them internally, as they move into romantic relationships. Never too young to teach about friendship!

Cynthia Springsteen: Okay that is absolutely wonderful advice!

Annie Fox: Glad you approve. :O)

Cynthia Springsteen: I would love if you would join a group of parents one night for a discussion on skype.

Annie Fox: Sure, thing... then you could post the transcript and we could all link to it.

Cynthia Springsteen: This is so important and i want all these words out there. Thank you for doing this today i truly appreciate your time.

Annie Fox: My pleasure and thank you for this opportunity!

Cynthia Springsteen: Last personal quick question for the readers do you have children? How old now?

Annie Fox: Our daughter is 30 and our son is about to turn 25. Both exceptional young people. They make us proud with their choices. Bye!

You can read many of Annie Fox's stories with free downloads at http://www.anniefox.com/

If you would like to read any of Annie Fox's awesome books and series please click here Annie Fox

Hopefully you have learned a lot from our award winning author educator. I know that I did!

This was originally published on Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/x-33498-Long-Island-Parenting-Teens-Examiner