Respond To 2 Diifferent Posts, *100 words each*

I’m stuck on a Sociology question and need an explanation.

POST 1:     One of the things that got my attention on this module, is about who influences our sexual behavior. This topic was very interesting for me because I have three children; two teenage boys 17 and 12 years old, and a 10 years old girl. One of the data that surprised me is that most of the teenagers don’t talk with their parents about sexuality. Data says, that even though, 97% of teenagers by the age of 18 have some knowledge of sexual education, the information is not provided by their parents. In addition, I learned that teenagers talk with parents more about sexually transmitted infections and how to prevent HIV.  In addition, peers and sibling influence teenagers. The influence of peers of siblings can be helpful on some occasions, for example, older siblings can make a good impact on younger siblings when talking about their sexuality. Instead of prohibiting sex, older siblings can give good advice to the younger ones about safe sex, especially to boys.

        Also, religion influences sexual behavior. For instance, I didn’t know that Evangelical students considered themselves virgins although they had oral or anal sex; they don’t consider it as “real sex”. Data shows, that 80% of teenagers who identify themselves as Evangelical or born-again Christians said that sex should be saved for marriage when for other religions teenagers lose their virginity at a younger age.  All these facts made me feel related to the information. I considered this information very useful. As a mother of teenagers, I realized that this is information is true because I have done some of the things that were mentioned.  I have always been very open with my children when talking about sex, however, as the texts mention I have always made emphasis about STD, safe sex or abstinence. Certainly, my perspective changed a lot after learning all these facts.

POST 2: The topic that interested me the most was “Who Influences Our Sexual Behavior: Family and Friends” because I think it is very important for us as parent teach our children about sex and sexuality. If they don’t learn it form us, then they will learn about it from somewhere else, and an opportunity to influence family values may be missed and most likely they will be misinformed.

I remember growing and not knowing nothing about sex because for my parents and family it was almost a sin to talk about it, so I obtained that wrong information from my high school friends and I don’t think it was the best option. Since that happened to me, I didn’t want my three girls to go with their friends and ask about sex. I wanted to be the one educating them in this topic. I wanted them to know about sex, birth control and Protection so they are aware and learn how to protect themselves.  

Beginning a conversation with our children is not easy, but we have to make sure that the information we are providing to them is according to their age and for that I researched a lot, I saw a lot of videos and I also read some books. This way, it was easier for me and less uncomfortable to talk to them about this crucial topic. We just have to wait for the perfect moment to have this conversation. These conversations are easiest when they come out of a life experience, like seeing a pregnant woman. When we talk with our children about sex, they can make sure that they are getting the right information. We should be our children first source of information about sex. Understanding correct information can protect children from risky behavior as they grow up ad live their lives.

Having open communications with children about sex and other matters is healthy and safer for them. This does not mean that it will be easy or without awkward moments. Teens are still very private and especially to parents. However, speaking about sex increases the chance that our children will approach parents when difficult or dangerous things come up.

No matter how painful or shameful it is for us to talk to our kids about sex, doing so, and making sure they get the right information will keep them safer.

REPLY TO:

Post 1: Growing up I believe my parents both showed authoritative parenting. My parents both would set ground rules that me and my sister would have to abide by. I always respected my parents and knew to never talk back and I always listened to them. They would never discipline us physically it was mostly verbal, they would sit down and talk with us. My parents would use positive reinforcement all the time, whenever we would accomplish anything or help with chores we were giving an award or allowance. I think this helped us to become more responsible and self reliant as mentioned in the book. I also adapted to this parenting style with my son, I set the rules for him and he knows right from wrong, instead of yelling at him ( he’s only 3) I sit with him and have a conversation with him and he always shows me that he understands and will apologize for his behavior. I believe it’s important to be demanding to your children but also very important to show that that you care and show understanding, this will ensure obedience and will help develop a good relationship with your children. After reading about this more in the book it’s interesting to see how my parents authoritative parenting played a huge role on who I am today, parenting styles are so important to consider since they can affect children in many ways. Regardless of what parenting style one chooses, if you want to raise your children to become responsible adults you have teach to think positive about themselves and others, teach them right from wrong, and also show that that there are multiple ways to solve problems. Every parenting style is different and can be the cause of how a child turns out, I think it’s important to read on the different types of parenting to see which one suits you and your family best.

Post 2: It was interesting reading and finding out about the different parenting styles. Out of all your I feel like I could relate to a little bit of each. In my family there are four children, and for each one of my siblings I feel like my parents used different parenting skills for each and every one of us. However, for my personal experience growing up I can say that my parents incorporated more authoritative parenting than anything else. They would imply rules on me, there was boundaries growing up. There would in a way be negotiation, such as you cant do this but we will let you do this with certain conditions. I had house chores around the house that had to be done, my parents would also be involved in my extra curricular activities such as soccer games, dance recitals, school activities etc. However there was also a bit of authoritarian parenting involved, for example they would expect obedience and also be super demanding. There was also some factors that one parent has that the other one did not, for instance, my dad was more of an uninvolved parenting with his parenting skills. He would know little about my academic lifestyle. And would spend little time with me. Like I said, I have three other siblings and it was interesting to see, and reading about the different parenting skills I was able to make connections and see that my siblings turned out all different because we were all raised with different types of parenting skills. With my two older sisters, my parents were a bit more authoritarian and authoritative with their parenting. In contrast with my younger brother and I there was a lot more of uninvolved and permissive styles. I believe that with the older two they wanted to be more involved and were more about working together, and with me, especially my younger brother they were more tired and in a way out less effort thinking that we had examples and seen how our siblings grew up so they expected us to learn from them.