Parent Programs

Healthy Futures strives to empower parents to be the primary educators of their children with regards to sexuality education. Everything we discuss in the classroom was developed to reflect messages that parents want their teens to hear. A Zogby poll of parents in the U.S. released in January 2004 shows that:

91% of parents want teens to be taught to abstain from sexual activity during high school years (and 79% want them to be taught abstinence until marriage or near marriage);
96% of parents want a sex education class to teach that abstinence from sexual activity is best for teens; and
90% of parents want sex education to teach that the more sexual partners a teen has, the greater the likelihood of physical and psychological harm.

While Healthy Futures is designed to reinforce messages that teens are already hearing at home, we recognize that for many parents sex can be a challenging topic to discuss. Parents often tell us that they feel unprepared to dialogue with their teens about sexuality. For this reason, we offer parent programs (PDF) aimed at empowering parents to speak openly with their teens about sexual health issues. Healthy Futures parent programs can include any or all of the following topics:

Adolescent sexual health today
Provides information about the sexually transmitted disease (STD) epidemic and why teens are at greater risk for STDs, as well as examining potential solutions to the problem of STDs.
How to talk to your teen about sex
Prepares parents for how to have meaningful conversations about sex and how to express their values about teen sexual activity, and also provides resources for parents with tough questions. This can be presented for parents only, or as a parent/teen interactive workshop.
Healthy Futures program information
Gives parents a forum to learn what will be taught to their teen in a Healthy Futures classroom program and discuss any related questions or concerns.

Healthy Futures parent programs are offered through schools in conjunction with a classroom program or in the larger community by request. All parent programs are flexible and can be taught in the afternoon, evening, or on Saturday mornings. To schedule a Healthy Futures parent program, please call 617-929-1037 or or email contact@healthy-futures.org.

Request a Parent Program