As a parent, you might want to use the same strategies your parents did once you have children. You should do that if you feel like you’re a well-adjusted individual and that your parents did a great job raising you. However, if you think there are certain areas where your parents erred, you should take steps to correct that.
All parents should talk to their progeny about a variety of topics. They also need to speak to them about those issues in the correct way. You might think back and realize there were certain areas of life that your parents neglected to talk about, or you don’t like the information they gave you.
Let’s go over several of life’s areas that you should talk about with your kids once you believe they’re old enough to know about them.
Sex
There are some things that you can protect your kids from, and those are obvious. For example, if a car hits your child when they’re walking down the street, you would contact a pedestrian accident attorney. There are other dangers, though, that are a little less evident.
You don’t necessarily want to think about sexual relationships as being dangerous, but the reality is that they can be. You know there are various STDs out there, like chlamydia and herpes. There is also still the very real HIV and AIDs danger that exists, even though we now have better treatments to fight them than we did decades ago.
You also need to think about pregnancy if you don’t use protection. Many parents don’t want to talk to their kids about these things because they feel embarrassed. They feel like a religious figure or someone at the school should inform their kids about it.
If you decide to leave it up to others to talk to your kids about sex, though, then you have no idea what those other individuals are saying. They could very easily be giving them harmful or inaccurate information.
You should speak to your kids about sex. Take some time beforehand to think about what you want to say. Make sure you emphasize that it’s a natural part of life, and don’t depict it as dirty or shameful.
Drugs
You should talk to your kids about drugs at some point as well. You shouldn’t frame them as something inherently evil that your children should never do. After all, humans have been creating and using intoxicants since the dawn of recorded history.
You should point out that there are legal drugs, such as alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine, and there are illegal ones like crack, smack, and meth. You can talk about why society allows us to legally use some of them but not others.
You can talk about how drugs are potentially dangerous, but how sometimes, there's misinformation around certain ones that doesn’t need to be there. You still need to emphasize their illegality, though, and how a person can mess up their life if they try to purchase or use them. Try to use facts, and explain to your kids your expectations regarding drug use while they are under your roof.
Driving
You’ll probably teach your child how to drive when they’re old enough. Your driving lessons should include more than just the fundamentals, though.
You should also teach your child about changing a tire and checking their fluid levels. You should talk to them a bit about whether buying a brand-new car is better or why they might want to get a certified pre-owned or a used one. You can talk to them about which car brands you prefer and why.
You can talk to them about why they might choose to get a hybrid or an electric vehicle. You can speak to them about the environmental impact that gas-powered cars have.
You should certainly speak to them about how they should never drive drunk and how they should never let their smartphone distract them. Tell them they shouldn’t speed, tailgate, or engage in any other potentially harmful driver behaviors.
Religion
You might have a particular religious belief set. That might be because you grew up in that religion yourself. You also may have taken up that belief as an adult.
You should talk to your child about why you believe the things you do. You might decide that you want to raise them in that religion from a young age, but you should also tell them at some point that you will not force them into that belief system if it’s not something that they elect to do.
It’s fine for you to tell your children why you believe what you do about God and religion, but you should never force indoctrination upon them. If you do, that can alienate them.
There’s nothing necessarily wrong with organized religion, but it’s something that each person should decide for themselves. If the reason you tell your children to be part of your faith is just “because I say so,” then that isn’t fair to them. You need to trust them to do their research and decide for themselves whether they want to have your same beliefs.
Love
You should also talk to your youngsters about love, which might be part of the sex talk, or it could be separate from it. Sex and love certainly intersect, but they’re not always connected.
You should explain to your child that you’ll love and care about them no matter who they have romantic feelings for, as long as that person consents. That way, if your child does turn out to bisexual, gay, or any of the other sexual identities that exist today, you won’t push them away from you.
If you want your kid to remain a part of your life when you both get older, you must tell them that you will always love them and accept them. You should tell them that they should follow their hearts concerning all romantic matters.
