Talk Sex With Your DaughterJune 3, 2010 · Posted in Adult Children, Communication, Parenting, Teens, Toilet Training · Permalink
A recent study in the American Academy of Pediatrics shows a positive correlation between mother/daughter communication about sex, and the daughter’s decision to get the HPV vaccine. The HPV vaccine protects against a certain kind of cervical cancer due to an STD. Unvaccinated women were more likely to vaccinate in the future if they thought their mothers would approve. This is not to vote yea or nay on the vaccine itself, but rather to point out the impact of mothers and daughters talking together about sexual health.
The CDC reports adolescent girls are more vulnerable to STD’s than their male counterparts.
“Adolescent girls ages 15–19 years had the largest reported number of chlamydia and gonorrhea cases (409,531) when compared to any other age group, followed closely by women ages 20-24, according to an annual report on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs)…The report finds that more than 1.5 million cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea were reported in 2008.”
Whatever your daughter’s age-whether she is potty training, wanting to know where babies come from, developing breasts, or beginning to be sexually active-you can create an open door for her to come to you with questions. It will impact her health, self-esteem and sense of herself as a women one day.
Couldn’t agree with this more. Despite some daughter-sponsored blocks along the way (at 15, she said in exasperation, “Are we REAlLY talking about this???”), at 18 years old, my daughter knows she can come to me with questions and advice. And, she has. I’ve had to negotiate her right to privacy, my right to guide, and all the other tricky and sometimes scary glitches, but it’s REALLY worth keeping up the talk. In the end, it pays off.