Waiting, Dating, and Mating

Hey REALife Parents.

As you may have learned through my email last week and from our website, we just started our Waiting, Dating, and Mating series at REALife. This series covers a wide variety of topics related to sex and dating. This past weekend was great. The students seemed very responsive, and my small group leaders have told me that their groups got to talk through some very good issues.

I wanted to encourage you to use this series to your advantage. If you haven't talked to your son or daughter about sex, use this time to do it. If you haven't talked to your son or daughter about sex in a while, use this series to revitalize that conversation. Students need continually guidance from you as parents, especially in this area that is such a huge issue among teenagers.

I know it can be awkward to discuss these topics with your kids, but know that they are hearing about it and talking about it with their friends, and having your guidance could really make all the difference in their understanding about the issues.

Here are some sample questions you can start with to get the conversation going:

-How much pressure do you feel among your friends or at school to have sex?

-What boundaries have you set up in regards to sex, and why did you set up those boundaries?

-Do you feel like you can come to me (the parent) if you break those boundaries, or even if you just want to talk to me about these things?

-Do you struggle with looking at pornography? (wow, this is a awkward question to ask, but this is a big issue, and approaching it with openness and grace can help your son or daughter through this issue)

Here's an outline of the topics discussed during this past weekend and over the next three weeks. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I would love to talk with you.

February 28 - Singleness, Sexual Language, Lust, Masturbation, Pornography, Forgiveness

March 7 - Dating, Boundaries, Respecting Others, Respecting Yourself, Forgiveness

March 14 - Sex, Boundaries, A Theology of Sex, The Beauty of Sex, The Dangers of Sex, Forgiveness

March 21 - Text Your Questions