It is important for young women to learn about their breasts. This video shows a group of British soccer players learning how to give themselves a breast exam. E-mail it to all the young women in your life!
Several weeks ago I posted a video of a group of young men learning how to [...]

This is part 3 in a 3-part series on the influence peers have on adolescent decision making. The first part presented the issue, the second part argued for an appropriate course of action to mediate peer influences, and today is about whether peer-influenced early sexual behaviors matter in the long run.
Today’s discussion is based [...]

Yesterday I wrote about how peer pressure greatly influences adolescents’ sexual decision making. Today will be about how parents can have a place in the interaction and mutual-influence between adolescents and their peers.
So your teenage son or daughter’s friends are having sex. Or drinking, or smoking pot, or failing their classes. Whatever [...]

A teenager’s peer group has a deep and profound effect on many aspects of his or her behavior. This is just one of those truisms of humanity, although it may be more potent for teenagers. We are more likely to engage in behavior we consider normative rather than unusual, and we are more [...]

Zits is my favorite comic strip. Scott and Borgman seem to be able to tap into something about teenagers that appeals to both parents and teens - something very difficult to do. This one is from last Thursday, August 23rd.
On an off-topic note, tonight is the full moon. Step outside and enjoy it [...]

A friend recently asked, since she lives far away and cannot attend my next class in Austin, what reading material could I suggest for her and her friends. She has a fifth grader. Here is what I said to her:Good reading material about boys includes the chapter on sexuality in the book The [...]

I am pleased to announce an up-coming class on adolescent sexuality for parents.
This class will cover a variety of issues that are critical for parents of current or future adolescents to understand in order to support the healthy sexuality of their children. Because of the dramatic changes in the adolescent sexual landscape over the [...]

Most religions have very strong opinions about sex and sexuality. Churches and other places of worship are a major contributor to sexuality education for American children and teenagers. I happen to very much like the Unitarian Universalist’s sex education program, Our Whole Lives (or OWL). The Reverend Debra Haffner writes a regular [...]

Someone (I have no idea who) recently did a google search asking the question, “Can adolescents truly be in love?” This blog is the fifth search result out of 1,710,000 websites which may or may not provide something of an answer to that question. The searcher looked at my blog for less than [...]

A friend recently forwarded me this:
The Shortest Fairy Tale
Once upon a time, a guy asked a girl, “Will you marry me?”The girl said “no” and she lived happily ever after. Andwent shopping, drank martinis with friends, always had aclean house, never ever had to cook, had a closet full ofshoes and handbags, stayed skinny.
The [...]