Parents should have continuing discussions with their children about sex, rather than rely on one embarrassing conversation to cover the topic, according to the chairwoman of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency.
Olive Braiden said parents needed to talk in an ongoing way with their children about sex, sexuality and intimacy.
"One talk just won't do it," she said. She was speaking at the introduction of a new DVD, produced by the agency, to help parents talk to their children about sex.
The DVD, You Can Talk To Me, was somewhat ironically titled, said Dr Marie Murray, one of the contributors. Though one might assume it referred to parents telling their children they could talk to them about sex, in fact it could also be taken to refer to teenagers telling their parents they could talk to them, said Dr Murray.
"One of the things that comes through in the DVD is that young people want their parents' input," she said.
Agency director Sharon Foley said the focus in the DVD was on communicating about sex, rather than the biological facts.
The agency yesterday also published the findings of four studies on teenage sexuality.
Teenagers were found to have learned about sex from a variety of sources - television, magazines, the internet, friends and their own experiences, as well as, though less so, from parents.
"The influence of friends emerged as a major factor in the decisions young people make about sex, relationships and contraception," said Ms Foley.
The studies found that boys were expected to display sexual knowledge and experience, and felt they could not ask about issues related to sex for fear of being ridiculed. Boys were also more likely to want sex to happen irrespective of whether there was a relationship of not.
Few girls associated sexual activities with pleasure but wanted to please their partner. For teenage girls the most commonly reported emotions after first sex were fear, disappointment and distress.
The DVD is available free from all public libraries and Citizens Information Centres.