I agree. Another point I would like to make is how important for parents to talk to their teens. I feel like if my parents came to me at the age of 12 or 13 I would have been able to deal with what was going on much better. yes, i know it is a really uncomfortable conversation but the positives much out way that one negative.

I heard that teens who have talked with their parents about drugs can be 50% less likely to use them. Ignoring it will not make it go away. Parents talk to their little children about not talking with strangers or getting in a car with one similarly if parents talk with their teenagers AND (not or) put a filter on their computers teens will be prepared for the shmutz on the internet and in the real world. the talking is just as important if not more so then a filter. equipping a teen with knowledge of how to deal with this is better than trying to make sure they don't have access. TEENS WILL FIND A WAY.

things like "you are normal" and "we love you unconditionally" are really important to hear from parents. The reason it is important for parents to approach their teens is because of how difficult it for teens to approach their parents it was REALLY HARD for me to approach my parents! I almost didn't and I was dealing really poorly with the guilt I was feeling this could have lead to some really horrible things ( I was being way too hard on myself)! I needed to hear I was healthy but not only from the GYEers. I really think that this is one of the keys to prevention and awareness.

please feel free to chime in.

CA

totally. Parents should take the initiative and speak to their children. Better to start before the more problematic age. I'm speaking to all those parents out there: you are the big boys, not your kids. Your kid probably doesn't have the guts, emotional intelligence and other necessary tools to approach you. YOU have to take the initiative and tactfully explain things, show your love, make it clear that open communication always pays off and that you love your child unconditionally.
I wish I had felt that from my parents and believe me, my parents are both incredibly loving and good parents. My Mother especially is an outstanding parent. But she had no clue as a woman about the intricacies of manhood. As fathers, you guys really need to get talking with your sons and develop that kind of relationship. Woe onto the father who intimidates his son and creates barriers of fear.

GYE is happy to announce the launch of a booklet for parents and mechanchim called:

"Protecting our Youth: Experts Speak"
Download it by right-clicking the link and choosing "Save Target/Link As".

It contains a few articles by mechanchim and therapists, written especially for GYE, dealing with how to talk to children about these sensitive issues, how to protect children, and how to detect risk factors and warning signs.

We hope this booklet will grow as more experts send in articles on this topic. If you'd like to recommend anyone to write articles for this booklet, please let us know.