Written by Yesi, RSEI Educator | Published April 12th, 2021
At the Responsible Sex Education Institute (RSEI) we aim to engage parents and families as the primary sexuality educators of their child(ren). As sex educators, our role is to provide parents and families the resources, skills, and confidence to have conversations about sex, sexuality, and sexual health. In this month’s blog post we will be highlighting some exciting things we are working on as part of the RSEI Outreach to Parents Taskforce. For our readers who are not parents themselves, these can be great resources to share with the parents of the students you work with at your school, organization, or a parent group that could benefit from these materials.
RSEI at Home
Research shows that the majority of teens say that they want to have conversations about sex with their parents or caregivers! Often it is the adult who gets nervous having these conversations. Visit our RSEI at Home page on our website to learn more about how we support parents, guardians, and caregivers.
Let’s Get You Talking
If you have been following us on Facebook you may have noticed that we have recently been featuring TALK tips for parents and caregivers to have conversations with their youth about how to love themselves and their bodies, body positivity, consent, boundaries, and more! Visit and follow for articles, resources guides, and TALK tips for more information.
Self-paced Asynchronous Lessons
This month we are really excited to announce that we recently launched two brand new self-paced asynchronous lessons for parents and families! Check out this video below to get a sneak peak at what these lessons entail: https://fb.watch/4LgYSvuA7u/
- Talk Is Power for Families: This self-guided learning module is designed to give you, the parent or caregiver, the support, and resources you need for talking with your youth about the varies topics that fall under comprehensive sex education. In this module you will find sections for parent(s) and caregiver(s) to complete on their own as well as some sections that are meant to be done together with youth. Together, adults and youth in their family units will explore the barriers to communication, values, and gain skills and resources to build the foundation for healthy communication through guided family discussions and activities.
- Navigating Tech Use: This self-guided learning module is designed to give parent(s) or caregiver(s), the support and resources to help manage the impact that technology has on youth’s lives and relationships. In this lesson you will explore the risks and benefits of technology; learn how to use technology in a proactive and responsible way to talk about sex, sexuality, and sexual health; and learn tips for communication with youth about sex & technology.
We also want to acknowledge that we understand that every family and youth are at different levels/points in these conversations. Each youth has had different information and experiences. Therefore we will not decide for families what age is appropriate. We suggest parents/trusted adults go through the lesson first and decide which activities are best for your youth. Both self-paced asynchronous lessons are available for purchase on our website, just click over to the shop!
As we have said, our role as sex educators and youth serving adults is to ensure that youth and their families have access to sex education that gives them the skills and knowledge they need to make healthy decisions about their bodies and relationships. In addition to using tools like our self-paced asynchronous lesson, it can also be beneficial to use what we often refer to as teachable moments. Teachable moments are opportunities that can happen anywhere or anytime, pulling conversations from the experiences or situations around you. Varies media around us can provide lots of content as a jumping off point for starting these conversations. As you are spending time with your child(ren) this can provide parents and caregivers an opportunity to talk about body autonomy, consent, healthy touch, boundaries, protection, you name it! These conversations can help normalize sexual health and remove stigma that can contribute to risky behavior.
We hope that our new parent and family materials can make these conversations easier and more comfortable for parents, caregivers and their youth. Reach out to us, we are here to help!