Protecting Your Teenage Daughter's Sexual Health: What You Should Know

Health & Medical Blog

While being a parent can sometimes be a daunting task, the worrying and concern can sometime peak when a person has a daughter who is a teenager. Teenage girls (and even boys for that matter) are at a pinnacle time in their lives where one wrong decision or move can affect them adversely for the rest of their lives. Because of this, you need to understand ways that you can help to protect your teenage daughter's reproductive and sexual health without making them (or you) uncomfortable. By learning some ways to help protect your daughter's reproductive health, you will give her the resources and knowledge that she needs to take proper care of herself no matter what opportunities or situations arise in their lives. 

Do Not Try To Use Scare Tactics

Chances are, before you ever sit down to talk to your teenage daughter, she is going to have some awareness and knowledge of sex and sexuality from school, friends, or the media. So, if you try to scare her away from sex and her developing sexuality by telling her to abstain from sex no matter what (without explaining alternatives), she may not be receptive. 

In fact, using scare tactics is one of the worst ways you can approach the subject. Many parents resort to such tactics because they fear their daughters aren't listening. So, they start talking about STDs and pregnancy as a way to shock their daughter into paying attention. 

If you fear your conversations with your daughter are heading in this direction, you may want to have another person step in and talk to your daughter. A school counselor, counselor at a teen center or psychologist's office, or a gynecologist like Mark E Richey MD PC can serve as an impartial outside party who can discuss reproductive issues with your daughter if your talks do not go well.

Speaking of the Gynecologist . . .

Whether you think your daughter is sexually active or not, an appointment at the gynecologist's office is a rite of passage for most teenage girls today. Going to the gynecologist does not just have to be about sexuality and pregnancy prevention for your teen. 

Helping them get in to the doctor's office once they have begun menstruating also encourages lifelong, positive health habits. Annual gynecological exams can help to detect and prevent cervical and breast cancer among other issues. 

Additionally, your daughter may have questions about the developments in their body that they may not feel comfortable asking you no matter how open your relationship is. During an annual exam with their gynecologist, your daughter will be able to talk directly and confidentially with an expert on such issues about any questions or concerns they may have. 

There's an App for That

Finally, teenagers are largely reliant on technology for their information and entertainment. As such, you can use this love of technology to your advantage.

Teen health clinics, counselors, and physicians have developed apps to help educate young people about their bodies, their sexuality, and maintaining their reproductive health. Get your child one of these apps on their phone or tablet device and encourage them to use it as a resource in addition to yourself.

By giving your child a way to explore and better understand their reproductive health that does not involve awkward conversations with the adults in their life, you are still encouraging them to take care of their reproductive health and protect themselves with the proper information.

While dealing with teenage sexuality is never an easy task for parents, it does not need to be an impossible task. Keeping these pointers in mind will help you to protect your teenage daughter's reproductive health and prevent them from making a misstep that will affect the rest of her life.  

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26 August 2015