• Research confirms that parents matter when talking to their young children about Relationships, Sexuality and Growing Up.

Today, the Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP), HSE Health and Wellbeing, launch new resources to add to their educational range for parents titled ‘Making the Big Talk Many Small Talks’.  

The range aims to support ongoing conversations between parents and children about relationships, sexuality and growing-up. It was developed in response to studies showing that both parents and children want to communicate with each other about relationships and sexuality topics, but they often face challenges in doing so.

The resources being launched today are:

• ‘Making the ‘Big Talk’ many small talks, for parents of 13 – 18 year olds’: Information booklet. This publication supports parents of 13 to 18 year olds to have conversations about relationships and sexuality with their children. It includes content on: physical, emotional, social and sexuality development; healthy and unhealthy relationships and the importance of boundaries and consent; and relationships and sexual activity in the online and offline world. The booklet is a follow on from previous HSE resources to support parents of 4-7 year olds and parents of 8-12 year olds.
• Making the ‘Big Talk’ many small talks’, Video collection. The collection contains nine animated videos, addressing some of the questions parents of younger children have with regard to talking about relationships and sexuality. Many of the issues covered are common to parents with children from birth to about 5 or 6 years old but some of the messages are also applicable to parents of older children.  The topics include: responding to a child’s natural curiosity about the body, explaining how babies are made, and answering their questions about even some of the more mature topics which they may hear about in the media. See below for the list of current titles.
• Research Summary: The importance of parental communication in supporting children’s and young people’s relationship and sexuality development. This Summary is designed to support those in parental roles initiate meaningful, useful and age and stage-appropriate conversations with children and young people on relationshipsand sexuality. It provides an overview of the evidence on the importance of parent-child communication on relationships and sexuality and outlines the health benefits to young people of good-quality, early and frequent communication with parents. Finally,it describes some of the barriers to parent-child communication on this topic, and outlines ways to overcome these.

Welcoming the launch of the new research summary and resources, Frank Feighan, Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and the National Drugs Strategy, said:

I am very pleased to see this new research summary and resources for parents being made available. It is vital to understand research and emerging trends to ensure that the supports we are providing for parents, children and young people in the area of relationships, sexuality and growing up have a firm foundation in evidence. The booklet and video series being launched today will be a great help to parents, children and young people in helping to initiate on-going and meaningful conversations.

Moira Germaine, Education and Training Manager for the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme, said

:

We are keenly aware that parents are the primary carers and educators of their children and as such have a crucial role to play in supporting their relationship and sexuality development. The Research Summary launched today highlights that while parents may face challenges when communicating with their child, most parents want to talk to their children about these subjects and require assistance from trustworthy sources. The HSE’s, Making the Big Talk, many small talks, resources have been developed to meet that need. They will help parents to provide ongoing and individualised guidance to their children at all stages of development, enabling them to build positive relationships and express their sexuality in a healthy way. 

Maeve O’Brien, Interim Programme Lead for the HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme, commented:

Children report wanting to talk to their parents about these issues. Research demonstrates that close relationships and good communication between parents and children about relationships and sexuality leads to young people being more knowledgeable and better prepared when they begin to engage in sexual activity, which in turn can lead to better health outcomes later in life. As the lead Programme for the implementation of the Government’s National Sexual Health strategy, the SHCPP places a great deal of importance on supporting effective parent-child communication in this area, which is fundamental to children and young people’s protection and physical, social and emotional development and wellbeing.

•  The Making the ‘Big Talk’ many small talks booklets are available to download on https://www.sexualwellbeing.ie/for-parents/resources/ 
• Copies of the Making the ‘Big Talk’ many small talks booklets can be ordered from www.healthpromotion.ie.
• The Making the ‘Big Talk’ many small talks videos are available to view on www.sexualwellbeing.ie
• The Research Summary: The importance of parental communication in supporting children’s and young people’s relationship and sexuality development is available to download from https://www.sexualwellbeing.ie/for-professionals/research/research-summaries/

Notes:

1. Full details, including how to access the new resources are available on https://www.sexualwellbeing.ie/for-parents/resources/
2. A list of helpful resources and training courses is available at  https://www.sexualwellbeing.ie/for-parents/resources/
3. A key recommendation in the National Sexual Health Strategy 2015 – 2020 is the need to develop and promote accessible and appropriate information, resources and supports for parents to enable them to communicate effectively about relationships and sexuality.
4. The current titles in the Making the Big Talk Many small talks: Video Collection are:

• Why Talk To Young Children About Relationships and Sexuality?
• When Should You Start Talking To Young Children About Relationships & Sexuality?
• Where Do Babies Come From?
• How Are Babies Made?
• When Children Are Curious About Bodies
• What If My Child Doesn’t Ask Questions About Relationships & Sexuality?
• How Can I Teach My Values?
• What Should I Do When My Child Asks Questions About Mature Topics?
• What Should I Know About Gender

About The HSE Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP)

The SHCPP is a national policy priority programme in Health and Wellbeing in the HSE. It is charged with the implementation of the National Sexual Health Strategy 2015-2020.

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