How To Teach Your Teens About Healthy Relationships

Relationships are an important part of life. Unfortunately, too many young people are forced to try to grapple with them on their own. If you are a parent of a teenager, it's vital that you start teaching your teen how to have healthy relationships. 

Start with a Definition

If you're going to talk about relationships, it's often a good idea to start with a definition. You need to understand what your teen thinks is part of a relationship and share with him or her your own thoughts. This is also a great time to talk about what he or she thinks a healthy relationship looks like, as well as what an unhealthy relationship might look like. Creating a solid foundation on which you can build the rest of your conversations is always a good idea. 

Be Sure to Talk About Balance

One great thing you can talk about with your teen is how relationships need to have balance. This can concern both balances within a relationship and how your child can balance his or her relationships with the rest of his or her life. Relationships can be very overwhelming for teens, especially when they are new. Helping your teen to find some kind of balance is a good way to make sure that they don't lose themselves just because they feel like they have to commit themselves to the relationship. 

Bring Up Communication as Key

Communication is something on which everyone can work. Teaching your child about the importance of communication in a relationship is always a great idea. You can talk both about how to effectively communicate and about what types of communication are reasonable in a relationship. This is a great time to teach your child about how to talk to others in a calm and reasonable manner, as well as helping them to understand the value of talking out problems. It's also very necessary to teach your child that some forms of communication aren't healthy and that words really can be considered abusive. 

Talk About Health

Don't forget that discussing healthy sexuality should also be part of your relationship discussions. Talk about what it means to have a healthy intimate relationship, even if doing so can be a little embarrassing. It's also a good idea to talk about the risks of pregnancy and of STDs. It's always better to have this conversation early on, as teens who are more informed can make better choices. While you may not want your teen to be active, it's important that you stress the importance of responsibility and consent in healthy intimate relationships. Doing so will help prepare them for the types of relationships they are likely to have as they get older. 

Your discussions with your teen won't always be easy, but they will matter. The talks you have no will set the tone for their relationships in the future. If you can provide them with the right guidance, you can set them up for more successful relationships in the years to come.

Author Bio: Paige Jirsa- I work with Top10.Today, a shopping comparison site, where we strive to help consumers find the best quality and priced products.