My daughter is almost 16 and, in my opinion, is a very mature and respectful young woman.  I consider myself lucky because I have met some of her friends and they all seem to still be little girls whereas Catherine, while she still acts like a girl on occasion, acts more like an adult every day.

I’ve already spoken to her frankly about sex, just like my mother did to me.  In fact, my mother talked to me about sex about 5 years before I actually started having sex.  I thought that was very helpful to me as I went through High School and then college and I wanted to be able to help my daughter the same way.

Indeed she already has had a boyfriend and, although they are not ‘together’ anymore, I met the young man several times and actually spent time with them together and found that neither of them was thinking about having sex yet. (Yes, I did give a big sigh of relief.)

The truth is, humans are programmed to procreate, just like any other animal.  The only thing we can do as parents is be open with our kids, tell them that we care and offer them advice.  I’ve seen parents try to keep their kids, especially their daughters, under lock & chain but it always seems to backfire. I don’t want to worry that my daughter will make a mistake so I get up my nerve and talk to her, even though it makes both of us just a little uncomfortable.

Sex Ed is taught in most High Schools these days but it does nothing to prepare teens for the actual mental confusion that they will inevitably face. Rather than let my daughter, and my son, go through these trying times without real guidance I have taken the time to talk to them and do my best to educate them.

They’re both going to make mistakes because making mistakes is a part of life.  The way I see it, I can help them keep those mistakes to a minimum with just a little communication.  I also have told them many times that if they do make a mistake they can always come to me for help.  In my humble opinion that’s about the best that I can do.