With so many things to talk to our kids about today, where do you start? It’s not easy to bring up subjects such as teen pregnancy, drugs, sex, and other life affecting events, but it is something that must be done. So, how do you bring up these types of subjects? These are not quick ten-minute discussions. These are discussions that can happen during “teachable moments.” Teachable moments are those times when an event happens that you can use to bring up certain subjects. Things like:

• A news anchor says “up next, a teen mother gives birth to a baby in an alley.” This is a great time to bring up teenage pregnancy and their feelings on sex.
• You are driving down the road and see some teens smoking at a bus stop. You can use this time to talk about the dangers of smoking.
• A commercial comes on the TV about drinking alcohol and shows a glamorous woman driving off in a fancy car. Great time to talk about the dangers of drinking and driving.

There are many times throughout a day when a teachable moment can happen. Make sure not to overload your children by trying to teach everything at once. It’s not the quantity of the talks, but the quality of the talks. Take time to talk about life events to your children often. Above all, be a great example they can follow. Children name parents are their largest influencer.

Make sure to purchase a copy of The 4-1-1 on Surviving Teenhood on October 31, 2012 on Amazon.com.