Initiate conversations with your child. Watch TV or movies with your kids. The numerous public service announcements on youth-oriented stations, as well as sexually explicit scenes, are a perfect opening for a frank discussion.

Don't be nervous. Just do it. If you don't tell them about sex, someone else will.

Create an open environment. Let your children know you're open to their questions.

Communicate your own values. Research shows that children want and need moral guidance from their moms and dads; don't hesitate to make your beliefs clear. If you're a single parent, pay attention to your own sexual conduct; you can bet your teenager will.

Listen to your child. Find time to give him or her your undivided attention.

Try to be honest. And don't leave any big gaps in the information you provide.

Be patient. Resist the impulse to finish your children's sentences and let them think at their own pace.

Use everyday opportunities to talk. In the car, while watching television, when putting away the groceries.

Talk about it again. And again.