Talking about Sexuality and Values
Purpose: To
provide an opportunity for parents and teens to explore
values around sexuality
Time: About
one hour
Materials: Two
copies of Talking about Sexuality and Values handout
for each participant
Planning Notes: Make
two copies of the Talking about Sexuality
and Values handout for each participant. This activity can
be used in two ways:
- As part
of a sexuality education classroom experience in which
teens fill out the sheet and later discuss their values
in the classroom. Youth then take a worksheet home, filling
it out themselves and asking a parent or guardian to
fill it out and discuss it with them.
- As part
of a parenting workshop, parents can fill out the forms
and discuss their values in the workshop, then take another
worksheet home and ask their teen to fill
it out and discuss it with them.
Procedure:
- Introduce
the topic of values. Discuss how values are the
principles that we believe in and that should guide our
behavior. Say that values are learned, first from parents
or other caregivers and then from others, including peers.
Adolescents often question or test the values they have
learned from family. Friends with different values, media
messages, and developing intimate relationships all challenge
youth and create opportunities for them to make responsible
and healthy decisions about sexuality.
- Pass
out to each participant a single copy of the handout, Talking
about Sexuality and Values. Ask participants
to estimate the age at which they feel each listed behavior
is appropriate.
- Process
the activity by collecting all the handouts. Shuffle
them and redistribute so no one has his/her own handout.
Using a blackboard or newsprint, ask the group to call
out the age listed on the sheets for each behavior. Go
through all the behaviors, listing the ages beside them.
Discussion Points:
- Which
behaviors were easiest to assign to a particular age?
Which were hardest? Why do you think this was so?
- Could
the age you chose for particular activities by affected
by circumstances? Can you give an example?
- Why do
you think there were such differences in the ages listed
next to some behaviors?
- How did
you decide the appropriate age for a given behavior?
- How would
you react if your parent (or teen) listed a very different
age from one you gave?
- Would
gender affect the age you think appropriate for some
of the behaviors?
- How would
you react if your boyfriend/girlfriend felt very differently
from you about appropriate ages for some of the behaviors?
- Close
this activity by asking the participants to respond to
the following questions:
- By
doing this activity, I learned … about myself.
- This
activity really made me think about …
- My values …
- Give
each participant a blank copy of the handout. Ask participants
to take the handout home and ask a parent/teen to fill
it out and discuss it with them.
- If you
have time at a later session, ask participants to share
what happened when they did this activity at home with
a parent/teen.
Click
here for the Handout.
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