Teen Survival Week: Sex Education

It's "Teen Survival Week" on "Good Day."

Thursday's focus is on how to talk to teenagers about sex. The average age for teenagers first time having sex is 17 years old. 60 to 80-percent of teens say they use some kind of contraception. And most female's first sexual partner is one to three years older.

Dr. Loretta Sweet Jemmott is an abstinence researcher and professor at Penn.

Dr. Chavonne Lenoir is the director of Teen Pep. Teen Pep is an organization that teaches sex education in schools.

Dr. Lenoir explained teenagers are experimenting with all kinds of sex. "A lot of teenagers feel that oral sex is not really sex, not posing risks, and they can still maintain virginity if they engage in oral sex, but we all know that there are a lot of risks that come along with that."

Dr. Jemmott says her research shows that teaching abstinence does work.

The key is to start having conversations about sex early with children. "It really starts with teaching children about their body parts and having respect for their own bodies and understanding puberty."

Parents need to help their children establish their boundaries and values early. Dr. Jemmont says "Parents are the key people who need to be talking to our children."

For more information go to:

www.sexetc.org

www.advocatesforyouth.org