{"id":32537,"date":"2016-08-08T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T15:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=32537"},"modified":"2017-12-07T13:32:31","modified_gmt":"2017-12-07T21:32:31","slug":"how-to-talk-to-your-daughter-about-her-body-and-sexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/how-to-talk-to-your-daughter-about-her-body-sexuality-0808165","title":{"rendered":"How to Talk to Your Daughter About Her Body and Sexuality"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"motherMost mothers\u00a0likely\u00a0want their daughters to develop a positive body image<\/a> and a healthy sexual self-esteem. However, many\u00a0moms inadvertently act in ways that are counter to this goal, often because they may feel shy or embarrassed to talk about their bodies and sexuality<\/a>.\u00a0This message may, over time, get passed along to their daughters.<\/p>\n

What is a healthy sexual self-esteem, exactly? This refers to a person\u2019s ability to connect to their sexual identity and self in an age- and developmentally appropriate way. Healthy sexual self-esteem could\u00a0mean experiencing our body in a sexual way, enjoying our body sexually, and eventually sharing our body sexually with someone else. Many moms tell me they want to raise their daughters to be like this one day. They want their daughters to feel great about their bodies and to experience pleasure when they are older, in a healthy adult relationship<\/a>. The question is: how do we get there?<\/p>\n

First of all, it may be necessary to reframe the part of you that still believes talking to your daughter about her body and sexuality may be harmful. The research does not support this notion. In a study published in 2008 in the Journal of Adolescent Health<\/em>, for example, researchers Kohler et al. found that adolescents who received comprehensive sex education were significantly less likely to report teen pregnancy<\/a> than those who had received abstinence-only education. In fact, abstinence-only education did not reduce the likelihood of engaging in vaginal intercourse, but comprehensive sex education did.<\/p>\n

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With the research firmly on the side of talking to your daughter about her sexuality, how do you go about it?<\/p>\n

General Tips<\/h2>\n