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NEW YORK, Mar 09 (Reuters Health) - Most parents think that their children face a harder world than they did as kids, but many still do not discuss "tough" issues such as sex, violence and discrimination with their children, according to results of a new survey.
"Our kids today are growing up in an increasingly complicated world," according to Lois Salisbury, the president of Children Now, a nonpartisan children's advocacy group that was one of the sponsors of the survey. "Talking with kids about sex or alcohol is as important for their safety as talking to them about buckling a seat belt," she said in a press release.
"When parents talk early about these issues, children are more likely to maintain open communications and make wiser decisions," Salisbury said.
But even when parents do talk about sex and other tough issues, they may need to do a better job, since their children often do not hear the message, according to the survey. For instance, the survey found that about half of all teens whose parents said they had discussed how to make decisions about sex could not remember having such a conversation.
The national telephone survey, which included 1,249 parents of children aged 8 to 15 and 823 children in that age group, was sponsored by Nickelodeon, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Children Now. The three organizations announced the findings at a New York press conference.
More than 90% of parents reported talking about drugs or alcohol with their children, and nearly the same number had discussed discrimination. About 80% of parents had talked to their children about teasing and bullying, while about two-thirds had discussed guns in school.
But even though many parents feel that childhood has changed for the worse, the survey found that one part of growing up has stayed the same--parents and children do not talk much about the birds and the bees. Only 49% of parents of children aged 8 to 11 reported discussing the basics of reproduction. Parents of adolescents were more likely to have covered the basics of sex, but less than half brought up the subject of sexual decision making with their children.
Of course, if parents do not provide the answers to tough questions, kids will do their best to find them on their own. Not surprisingly, children said they learned "a lot" about sex, alcohol, drugs and other issues from their friends, with adolescents more likely to rely on friends than younger children. Television and movies were other sources of information for young people.
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