These are some strange and challenging times for citizens of the world, the United States, Texas and our City as we shelter in place and do the silent work together of halting the spread of COVID-19. To be effective fighters of the spread, we will all be suspending the routines of our lives, but not our values, priorities, or our urges – yes, sexual urges.
Also, people are even predicting a baby boom next year and have named the youth of 2033-2040 the “quaranteens”. However, we Texans have a can-do attitude and have always prized personal responsibility, so I am giving you a list of how to make sure your decisions are the ones you want for your future, not just right now. Now, more than ever, intimacy can have consequences that are unforeseen. Likewise, this closeness can afford us great opportunities for communication. Ntarupt will be here to give you both general sexual health information and information relevant to COVID 19.
Tips for Having The Sex Talk During COVID19:
- QUALITY TIME, QUALITY CONVERSATIONS! If you are a key adult quarantined with a young person, take this time to have those necessary and often delayed conversations about sex and values. If you need conversation tips and/or basic sexual health information, go to talkaboutitdallas.com.
- TALK ABOUT CORONA: Talking to your kids about Corona Virus is important, and there are great resources for that. Dallas’ own adolescent psychologist, Dr. Nicholas Westers has great advice @docwesters; check out Harvard Health Publishing’s “How to talk to children about the coronavirus” for talking to kids of all ages.
- GET INFORMED ABOUT SEXUAL HEALTH: As always, the Ntarupt staff is here to provide sexual health information. If you are any type of person contemplating intimate physical relations, sometimes known as sex, with another person, you need to be mindful of all the usual ways to protect yourself. To that end, Ntarupt educators will be posting short educational videos on @talkaboutitdallas and talkaboutitdallas.com on topics such as abstinence, contraception.
- READ ABOUT SEX AND CORONA: There is specific guidance for sex and COVID-19. Whether you are contemplating new partners at this time or being with existing partners, this is a good read “Sex and Love in the Time of Coronavirus” from VeryWellHealth and check out the New York State as issued guidelines regarding sex and corona disease (COVID19).
Also, check out this resource from The New York Times, “Quaranteenagers: Strategies for Parenting in Close Quarters.” The writer shares some strategies that might help parents address these unforeseen challenges, especially at a time when many adults are struggling to hold it all together and may not have easy access to their usual reserves.
- Make Space for Disappointment and Sadness
- Make Space for Relief and Joy
- Expect Friction Regarding Their Social Lives
- Allow Privacy and Time Alone
- Treat Teenagers as Problem-Solving Partners
CONTEST
Look for our#QuaranTEENtalks contest in which we will pay winning community members for posts on talking about it. In this time, we also want to share information from our Alliance partners. Please send us information you would like us to help get to the community. We are all in this together.
Be well and be careful!
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Terry Greenberg
CEO, Ntarupt
