Parenting Your Teenager: Are Sleep Overs with the Opposite Sex OK?

Q. Our 17-year-old son wants us to let his girlfriend spend the night at our house in his room. He has two beds since his older brother left for college. He says nothing will happen and lots of his friends' parents allow this. Should we try it and see how it works?

A. You're kidding, right?

Let me ask that in a slightly different way:

You are kidding, right?

Unfortunately, I know you're not because you are not the first parent to ask me this.

I must ask you:

Are you ready to be grandparents? Are you ready to help raise, in your home, your new grandchild? Are you prepared to be charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and/or sued?

The answer is an emphatic NO! I don't care what promises are made to you, it's a horrible idea and invites disaster.

Teens Not Emotionally Ready for Sex

In addition to all the moral issues, teenagers are simply not emotionally prepared for sex. While their bodies and hormones are many times well prepared, their emotions are not.

And that goes for boys as well as girls.

It's time for a healthy dose of Vitamin NO in answer to your son's question.

And by the way, anytime you hear "everyone else's parents are letting them do it," watch out.

More than likely it's not true.

Leading parenting expert Jeff Herring is a teen and family therapist, parenting coach, speaker and syndicated parenting and relationship columnist. Jeff invites you to visit ParentingYourTeenager.com for 100's of tips and tools for parenting through the teenage years. You can also subscribe to his f'ree weekly internet newsletter "ParenitngYourTeenager."

Related Articles:

Sex, Lies, & Videotape; Part 1
1 Corinthians 7:5-7:5 Sex ,Lies and Videotape. Part 1.

The Mid-Life Challenge: Make a Plan to Re-ignite Vocational Passion
Nobody will stop you in the hallway at work to ask if your career provides meaning and personal fulfillment. Recognizing that something's missing in your vocational life and taking the initiative to change must come from within.

Coin Collectors ? Are Coins Your Passion?
The following paper is meant to be a guide for all our readers, hopefully you too. Like all coin collectors you probably love the many different coins that come your way. From these coins we can learn a little piece of what happened in history, the various activities and such. To the coin collectors the enormous amounts of different coins are valuable in their own way. They look closely at the different coins that can be added to their collections.

Advice For Adult Women: Understand Your Acne To Treat Them Fully!
One good quality about this bad acne is- it does not have gender biases. No age limit for it either. It attacks male and female. The young and the old, children and the respected elders! Only, it visits you unannounced.

Camisole Sets Are Sexy Lingerie At Its Best
A new trend in wearing camisole tops as outerwear is partly responsible for camisole sets enjoying a surge of recent popularity Camisole sets, like many sexy lingerie items, have a rich and varied history

Lingerie: It Can Be Both Sexy And Comfortable
Between men and woman there will always be different opinions on what to buy. Lingerie can be sexy, and comfortable as well as long it is the right size. Don?t try to wear bras and underwear for the size you want to be, wear the right size for you and you will be more comfortable and definitely more yourself.

Lingerie Now and Then
Lingerie is actually a French term that means women?s undergarments. True to its literal meaning, lingerie is an intimate clothing item that is particularly very feminine and exudes excitement, sensuality and elegance. Very much unlike the ordinary day-to-day underwear that all people wear, lingerie is meant to be femininely fashionable and meant to be an expression of a woman?s innermost feelings. With the wide range of lingerie items available in the market today, of varying styles, colors and fabrics, there will always be a sexy lingerie that would suit your own taste and preferences.

Burning Love on Valentine's Day -- the Sex and UTI Connection
If "romance" triggers a urinary tract infection, this expert has the tips to keep the burning love at bay.

Adult ADHD and Fear: Why We Procrastinate
One of the things people with Adult ADHD symptoms really struggle with is procrastination. And procrastination really comes out of fear. What kind of fear?

Online Magazine a New Resource for LDS Teen and Young Adult Women
Modest Fashion, More Conservative Views and Articles that Aren’t about Sex? For Young LDS Women, There’s Now an Alternative to Cosmo.