Part of what compelled me is having a lot of familiarity with many of the parenting books out there that deal with sexuality, but also realizing that we needed an updated version. What compelled you to explore the topic of teens and sex?ĭebby Herbenick: I’m a sex researcher and educator, but I’m also a mom. Ian Kerner: I consider you one of the country’s most credible sources of accurate scientific information when it comes to sexuality. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. To give us some much-needed guidance, I sat down with Debby Herbenick, a researcher and professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health, whose new book, “ Yes, Your Kid: What Parents Need to Know About Today’s Teens and Sex,” was just published. Many kids won’t even tell their parents about their day or come out of their rooms, so how do we get them to open up about sex? As parents, we need to know how to initiate these difficult and daunting conversations, and we need to understand what today’s teen is up against. While it’s easy to blame social media and the internet for these unsettling trends, parents and schools also play a part. To inoculate against what teens may search for or stumble into online, they need to receive quality sex education at school and have non-shaming conversations at home.
Nude photos: What we may have once viewed as “adult” topics are now commonplace in high school circles - and even among some younger kids, too.
