Teenage Pregnancy: How to talk to kids about it.

Welcome to Teen Therapy Center. My name is Kent Toussaint. I'm the founder and clinical director.
We are a group private practice here in Woodland Hills, California. We are filled with therapists
who are fun loving, professional, warm, and we specialize in helping kids, teens and families
live happier lives. And we do that because we speak teenager and we speak parent. And we are often
the interpreter in between the two to help bridge those gaps to make sure that teenagers are
finally understanding parents, parents are understanding teenagers. And we're helping
develop greater communication, better empathy, healthier boundaries within the family.
But when we understand a kid or a teenager, we also have to understand what it's like to be a little
kid and a young adult and a parent. Because when you're a teenager, you're in this amazing transition
period where you got 1 foot as a kid and 1 foot in the adult world. And it's confusing and it's frustrating.
You know, I know we've been teenagers. Your teenagers

are going through it for their very first time. And so my job, or our job as therapists is to help
them go through that. We do that through individual therapy, family therapy, and sometimes
group therapy, depending on what your kids needs are. There are a variety of issues we deal with,
obviously. Self esteem issues, school motivation, anxiety, depression, attention issues,
autism spectrum, anyone who identifies multi, exceptional or two E. We work with those people
every day. Kids who are their families are going through divorces or even sometimes when they're
blending families together. Those can be very nuanced, complicated issues. And sometimes
having a therapist to help bridge the gap, help increase and develop better communication
is really helpful. Thanks for stopping by. Please check out our website. Give us a call. We're
happy to provide a complimentary phone consultation so you can ask all your questions. We can
provide you the answers so you feel comfortable choosing us. And

if somehow what you're asking for is outside of our scope, we're happy to provide you other resources
so you can find the referrals you need to get the help you need for you and your family. Thanks
again. My name is Kenta Toussaint. This is Teen Therapy Center, and we look forward to talking
to you soon.

THE MORE THEY KNOW, THE BETTER DECISIONS THEY MAKE

The last thing most parents want is for their child to have an unwanted pregnancy. And the last thing most teens want to do is talk about sex and teenage pregnancy with their parents. But regardless of how uncomfortable it might be for either party, it’s very important for parents to develop good, healthy conversations with their kids about sex. 

Research has consistently shown that the more education and knowledge teens have about sex, the more likely they are to make better decisions. Even if your teen is reluctant, we encourage you to keep trying to talk about teenage pregnancy. And the best place for kids to learn about safe sex, respect and consent is at home.

TAKE CONTROL OF THE SOURCE OF INFORMATION

If you don’t talk to your kid about sex and teenage pregnancy, they’re likely to get information from unreliable sources such as friends and the internet.  If you just don’t feel like you’re getting through, perhaps there’s a third party such as an Aunt or Uncle who can do the job. That’s the topic in this Tips on Teens:

“Our sixteen year old son has been in a relationship with a girl now for about three months. We found out a few weeks ago that he’s sexually active, and we’re terrified he’s going to get the girl pregnant. We tried talking to him about using condoms and being responsible, but he didn’t really seem to take it seriously and kind of blew us off. How do we make sure we’re getting through to him?”

Clinical Director Kent Toussaint answers your parenting questions every Wednesday at 12:00pm in our weekly segment Tips On Teens on Facebook Live. Have questions about parenting kids and teens? Send them to: TipsOnTeens@TeenTherapyCenter.com. We love to hear from you!

Head on over to our Facebook page every Wednesday at 12:00pm to watch LIVE!  Check out our page here – https://www.facebook.com/TeenTherapyCenter/

If you have more questions or would like more information, please contact our Clinical Director, Kent Toussaint at 818.697.8555.