As difficult as it may be, it is important to talk with children about the issues addressed in Sacred Choices . While the Sacred Choices materials offer opportunities for adolescents to learn about sexual ethics from a Reform Jewish perspective, the primary sex educators in our adolescents’ lives are their parents.

Sacred Choices recognizes that each family has different values and seeks to help parents articulate those values. Additionally, Sacred Choices helps parents articulate the message, “Here is what I think is right, but there is nothing we cannot talk about and there is nothing you could do that would make me turn my back on you.”

Study after study shows that kids say that their parents don’t talk to them about sex, while the parents say that of course they do, regularly. The same studies show that parents who are absolutely certain that their kids are not having sex are wrong about half the time. Kids need parents who set an example for their children in how they lead their lives, who know how to listen, and who are able to set firm limits that, most of the time, their kids respond to with relief.

--- Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, URJ 68^th General Assembly Sermon

• Recommended books and websites
  
  
• Do you have questions about Sacred Choices ? Need help addressing a specific issue with your teens? Having trouble talking with your parents about your relationships? Post a question to Rabbi Laura Novak Winer, RJE , Project Coordinator for Sacred Choices. She will help point you in the right direction.