Parent Challenge

Research on parental influence in the lives of teens shows a disparity between what parents and teens think about the most important influence in the lives of young people. Teens say it is parents, but parents believe peers have more power over their children than they do. Other research says that a close relationship between parents and children is the best predictor that young people will accept the values and beliefs of their parents and will resist peer pressure to engage in risky behaviors, such as sexual conduct.

So, if parents are still the biggest influence on children’s behavior in most cases, how can they take advantage of that and help middle and high school youth to make healthy choices – to get teens to think it through before they make a possibly life-changing decision? It all depends on what you know and how you teach what you know to your children.

Check out the links for help and encouragement in communicating with your children about abstinence and the importance of waiting until marriage to have sex.