New resources to help parents talk about sex and relationships with children 

Children are often mortified about having 'the talk' with parents.

The “potentially mortifying" chat between parents and children about sex and relationships can be turned into many smaller talks, the HSE has said, as it launched a new set of resources for parents.

The series of booklets and videos are aimed at parents to support them in communicating with their children about relationships, sexuality, and growing up.

The HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme’s education and training manager Moira Germaine said that while navigating these issues can be a “steep learning curve” for parents of children and adolescents, their own life experience will mean they have a lot to offer to the conversation.

The programme was developed on foot of studies that showed both parents and children want to be able to communicate about these topics, but often face challenges in doing so.

“Things can be tough at that age,” Ms Germaine said. “It can be embarrassing, and parents know that.

The good thing is parents don’t have to be the experts. If they were to wait until they were experts at everything, they may never start that chat.

“It’s about having a conversation... you will learn from your children too, as they have that different perspective.” 

The resources, available on sexualwellbeing.ie, include an information booklet with content on physical, emotional, social and sexuality development as well as healthy and unhealthy relationships and the importance of boundaries and consent.

It also includes a number of videos addressing some of the questions parents of younger children have when it comes to relationships and sexuality. 

It has content on explaining how babies are made and answering questions about mature topics they may hear about in the media.

Ms Germaine said that the research suggested that adolescents whose parents have had those conversations with them are more likely to have sex for the first time at a later age and are more likely to use safer sex practices.

No one-size-fits-all

She added that while there’s no “one size fits all” way to talk to your child about sex and relationships these resources offer a guide to help parents kickstart those conversations.

“Only a parent can know where their particular child is at,” Ms Germaine said. “We want to support parents to support young people to have a good sense of who they are and their self-worth. And out of that, they can have good, healthy relationships.”