Planned Parenthood Kicks Off Let’s Talk Month with Downloadable Conversation Starter for Parents and Young People

(Minneapolis) Planned Parenthood wants parents and young people to sit down for dinner.

October is Let’s Talk Month, an opportunity for community agencies, religious institutions, businesses, schools, media, parent groups and health providers to plan programs and activities which encourage parent-child communication about sexuality.

Planned Parenthood’s Education and Outreach department has created the Let’s Eat, Let’s Talk . . . Let’s See Where It Takes Us!  tablemat to help families engage in healthy discussion at the dinner table. The tablemat is available in English and Spanish and features questions like:

What is love?
What are three things you can do to be healthy?
What helps a person be a good parent?
How have you changed in the last year?

You can download the tablemat here.

Family meals can be an important opportunity to develop strong parent-child relationships and family connectedness. That feeling of connectedness motivates youth to make healthier choices as they grow. Like other forms of parental involvement, research shows a positive relationship between frequent family dinners and positive teen behavioral outcomes.

According to a report from U.S. Council of Economic Advisors (2000),teens who regularly have meals with their family are less likely to get into fights, think about suicide, smoke, drink, use drugs, and are more likely to have later initiation of sexual activity, and better academic performance than teens who do not.

“The truth is that parents have an enormous influence on their children’s decisions about sex—more than friends, the media or teachers,” said PPMNS President and CEO Sarah Stoesz. “Let’s Talk Month is about healthy families and strong, open and honest communication between parents and children,” Stoesz said.

Parents and caregivers have an important role teaching their children about sexuality, shaping their values and helping them develop into sexually healthy young adults. Let’s Talk Month is about empowering parents to comfortably have these important conversations with their children.

Planned Parenthood works year round in communities across our region to offer educational programming that supports and strengthens parents and families.  Contact us for more information about parent-child retreats and PASE events (Parents Are Sexuality Educators).  612-821-6198 or education@ppmns.org.  Or visit the Let's Talk Section of our website.