At a glance
- Parents can help their adolescent make healthy choices.
- Parents can have meaningful discussions with their teen about sex.
- Parents can help teens build trusting relationships with health care providers.
Overview
Parenting a teen is not easy. Many outside influences distract our youth and make parenting more challenging. Youth need adults who are there for them. This means people who connect with youth, communicate with them, spend time with them, and show a genuine interest in them.
A key parental role is helping teens understand that their health and well-being—now and in the future—are not simply a matter of chance, but a matter of choice.
Information for parents
Parental monitoring can help teens make healthy decisions and avoid risky behaviors.
Parents can help teens build relationships with health care providers to discuss sensitive issues.
Parents play an important role in shaping the health of their LGBTQ teen.
Fathers can help their teen avoid sexual risk behaviors.
Parents need to know about options to prevent unintended pregnancies, HIV, and STIs in adolescents.
Parents need to know about options to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in adolescents.
See Also
Connecting with your children can have a big effect on their health and well-being.