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October is Let’s Talk Month: How to Start "The Talk" with Your Kids

October has arrived, and with it comes Let’s Talk Month—a perfect reminder to engage in important conversations with your kids. As a parent, I know how challenging it can be to approach tough topics like relationships, sexual health, and growing up, but it doesn’t have to be a daunting task. In fact, the more you open up and talk to your children about these issues, the stronger the connection you’ll build with them.

Over my 20 years of working in sexual health education, I’ve seen firsthand how a lighthearted approach—using humor, fun activities, and storytelling—can make even the toughest subjects easier for parents and kids to navigate together. At The Talk Institute, I’ve developed courses designed to help parents create that bond, ensuring their children see them as approachable, which is key to building an ongoing, trusting relationship.


Why October is the Perfect Time to Start THE Talk

In today’s world, kids are exposed...

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How to Talk to Your Kids about Porn

There's no sugarcoating it: It's likely your kid will come across porn online, even through completely innocent searches. In all honesty, haven't you come across adult content when searching for something unrelated?  I once looked up Girl Scout cookies under Google images and stumbled across some different "cookies" I wasn't looking for if you know what I mean? Parents may find themselves confronting this issue much sooner than imagined, with kids who may not even understand exactly what sex is yet. We've created an amazing toolkit to help parents have the porn talk. Request it here.

Not surprisingly, reports on porn use have shown an upswing of use during COVID. Even if we install blockers and software to limit their exposure we have to assume that they won't work 100% of the time and we can't control all devices kids come in contact with.  In Peggy Orenstein's popular book Boys and Sex she writes, "Porn raises the question...

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The Secret to Answering Difficult Questions Children Ask: A Simple Framework for Parents

 

I have an amazing framework to share with you. It's how to answer any difficult question. Any question! These are some steps that I recommend that parents consider when they get stumped by a question. Even when your child asks something that just floors you. In these moments you might feel very surprised, shocked, concerned, or scared. There's a lot of different feelings that can come up for us when our children are asking questions.  It can even inhibit us from having certain conversations because we're fearful of some of the difficult or tough questions children may ask.


I’ve created a simple framework that parents can use when they find themselves answering a difficult question. Whether it’s a question about sexuality, violence, a belief, or a question about something that you've experienced. Anything that may freak you out.

 
I'm going to walk you step by step through a simple strategy. Are you ready to feel more empowered and certain talking to your...

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Should You Talk With Your Kids About Sexual Harassment?

 

"Mommy, what's sexual harassment?" Have you gotten this question yet?  With all the accusations in the daily news reports it wouldn't be surprising. 

With very young kids there is no reason to talk about it unless they bring it up. But be prepared in case they do. Here are some tips to help you broach the subject. 

Ask questions - "Where did you hear that?," "What do you think it is?," or "How did it make you feel to hear that?"

Watch your tone and be reassuring - Kids can sense if you are upset or angry. Be sure to let your children know you aren't mad at them. Try saying something like: "I love when you come to me with your questions and it's OK to ask or tell me anything even if you think it's something bad."

Keep it simple - There is no need to over-explain to young children. You want to satisfy their curiosity though and use terms they can understand. Try saying something like, "Harassment is a fancy word for bullying. Sexual harassment...

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Talking to Kids about Tragic News (Like the Las Vegas Shooting)

First thing Monday morning my husband told me the news about the Las Vegas shooting. It was a news alert on his phone and he gasped as he shared the awful news with me. We both poured over the little bit of information that was available about what had happened. Just the weekend before we were both in Las Vegas which made everything hit home just a little bit more. I immediately jumped on Facebook to check on two friends of mine that I knew were at the concert to see if they were safe. Thank goodness they were not harmed physically but were definitely traumatized by the whole situation.

Over the next few days, I kept hearing stories of friends of ours that had loved ones there. One friend had a loved one that was shot in the leg and was one of the 500 injured. Two Manhattan Beach residents including a middle school teacher (Sandra Casey) and police department employee (Rachael Parker) were killed. I know many of you had friends and family there as well, and my thoughts and prayers...

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Should You Set Parental Controls on Devices?

We get many requests to address parental control apps in our social media classes. In fact, recently a friend of mine had asked me how to handle an incident she had with her 15 year old son. While confiscating his phone after getting in trouble, she saw that he had messaged every girl in his contact list on Snap Chat to "exchange nudes".

She was livid and needed advice on how to handle this!! She decided to delete the app off his device and take his phone away for a few weeks. During that time he downloaded the app on a different device and was accessing his account. 

This got me thinking A LOT! What do parents do in situations like this?  What would you do in a situation like this?  The question of how much monitoring should I do is a gray area for parents and we struggle with the right answer.  And really the right answer is, it depends.  That can be the frustrating part.  What I mean is ideally when a child gets a device (e.g. cell phone, tablet,...

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3 Tips to Talking to Your Kids About Sex

 

Our first Tip is to Prep!


Are you ready to have THE Talk? Many times parents are wondering if their child is ready to learn about sex and growing up, but often times the real question is Are YOU Ready? Have you taken the time to think about what your beliefs and values are and which you’d like to leave behind and which you’d like to instill in your child.  A great place to start is to inventory where you learned about sex. What values did your parents instill in you? What beliefs and values do you have about sexuality?

How about your partner? It’s equally important to have important conversations with your co-parent about this topic. Get on the same page and discuss tactics and timing of your talks. You both need to talk to them as well. Don’t leave this up to one parent to do. Kids need both of your perspectives. If you are a single parent or separated from your child’s parent it may be difficult to get on the same page. You could start...

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The Top 10 Toughest Sex Questions that Kids Ask and How to Answer Them

Before we dive in and get into the 10 toughest questions, I want to go over some quick guidelines no matter what your child's question is, because let's face it, there's more than 10.  So, in general, some things to keep in mind always when your child is asking a question that is a sex related question, or even just a question that really surprises you is you want to do your best to have a poker face. Meaning, try not to show your emotion if it's one that's shocked, embarrassed, or maybe concerned. You don't want to show that expression on your face right away. What that will do is shut the door to them talking to you. That's definitely what you don't want to have happen.

The other thing you want to be really careful about is your tone. Your tone says so much. Next to your body language, it's the second most powerful communication tool that we have. So, if you say, "Where did you hear that?" Or, "Where did you hear that?" Is different than, "Huh, where did you hear that?" The...

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5 Things Parents Do Wrong When Talking THE Talk!

 

Jen Elledge here Sexual Health Expert and Founder of The Talk Institute here to share with you 5 things parent do wrong when Talking “The Talk”.


     Want to avoid making some of the most common parenting mistakes? Of course you do. Go ahead, start by taking a second to think about what you expect would be on this top 5 list! I’d like to begin with a quick story as I actually remember one of the first questions I had about sex. I didn’t ask a parent though, I asked my oldest sister...I was about 5 years old, we were in the car, and I asked the most popular sex question, “Susie, where do babies come from”? Her reply, “Honey, I think we need to talk about that when you are a little bit older.” I may have been young and I know she thought so and maybe she wasn’t comfortable or sure how to share that information me. Either way, I wasn’t happy because later that day I had a smart aleck comment for...

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