Parents & Teachers

Families And Children Talking about Sexuality

FACTS Age 5-10 - Newly revised in 2008!

FACTS Age 5-10 magazine (pdf-1.2MB)

FACTS Age 11-14

**FACTS Age 11-14 Magazine* (pdf-293kb)**

*You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF documents. (It is free.)

The Family Planning Association of Maine has updated this popular publication directed toward parents of children 11 to 14 years old.

F.A.C.T.S. is a guide to help parents break the silence about sexuality and teach children about themselves. Our children's education about their sexuality needs to be open, relaxed, and ongoing from the earliest ages, and from the people who know and love them best-their families.

The cost of families not talking to their children about sexuality is staggering. America has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the developed world, sexually transmitted diseases are at an epidemic level, and reports of sexual abuse are increasing.

We have learned from research that families who talk openly with their children make a positive difference in reducing these frightening statistics. Children in those families tend to grow up making healthful choices for themselves and are more protected from sexual abuse.

During the next few years, your children will experience an incredible rate of growth. Not only are their bodies changing from one month to the next, their minds, social lives and emotions are changing, too. As parents, you'll go through your own changes as your children start the path toward young adulthood. It's a time in the lives of parents where an extra measure of understanding can help.

We have collected some tips from professionals who work with parents and teens, suggestions to keep family conversations rolling, and a worksheet to help parents sort through sometimes confusing values about sexuality.

We want you to know that local family planning education departments have books and videos you can borrow and people you can talk to. Family Planning believes that by working together with parents, churches, schools, and community agencies, we can all insure that our children have every opportunity to make the best possible lives for themselves and eventually for their own families.