“Love Lessons: A Mother’s Guide to Teaching Her Teenage Daughter About Love and Relationships”

Love is an integral part of a child’s life.

In recent years, there have been numerous reports of sexual assaults among adolescents. As a result, parents have started to pay attention to sex education for their children. Various books and online courses employ different methods to teach children self-protection skills. However, according to some experts, solely teaching self-protection is not enough.

Adolescent education specialist Phuong Cuong believes that sex education should not overlook the education of emotions, responsibilities, love, and dignity associated with sexuality, and should not avoid teaching about love. Teachers and parents should carefully teach children about the beauty of love, how to behave in love, and so on.

“Love education is essentially about educating perspectives on life, personality, responsibility, and love, rather than just teaching abstinence.”

Love is an integral part of a child’s life.

According to a survey, this is what parents most often say to their children.

“You’re too young; the person you like now is definitely not the one you’ll marry.”

“The most important thing right now is your studies; don’t think about anything else.”

“Don’t fall in love too early!”

In reality, everyone has a vague feeling for a peer, and it is also an important part of life. After becoming parents, many people forget these memories and start to view their children’s emotional issues as a disaster.

However, according to experts, parents should allow children to experience these beautiful emotions and enjoy life to the fullest.

The previous generation lacked love education from an early age. But today’s children are exposed to technology at a young age, and society is changing rapidly, so their psychology and awareness of emotions are also transforming quickly.

Therefore, instead of prohibition, parents are advised to be more open and tolerant, equipping children with the necessary knowledge about safe sex and romantic relationships.

Three important aspects parents should share with their children during the development of love

Have honest and open conversations with your children about love

The more secretive parents are about love, the more it will spark their children’s curiosity and drive them to seek understanding on their own.

Nowadays, many children learn about love through the internet, but the information they receive through these channels is often vague, misleading, and illogical, which can lead to negative consequences.

Therefore, it is crucial for parents to have frank and honest conversations, walking alongside their children on their journey of life filled with curiosity and exploration about love.

For children at this stage, having a crush on someone is the beginning of discovering the beauty of a different life and a source of happiness.

Many works of literature feature love as a common theme, which parents can use as a starting point to discuss the topic of love with their children.

In the parents’ eyes, their child may still seem young, but the child themselves feels almost grown up and eager to explore more about love.

Have honest and open conversations with your children about love.

A mother shared that she asked her daughter, “You’ve read a lot of books; can you tell me what love is?” The girl thought for a moment and replied, “I can’t explain it yet, but the love I read about in each book is a different story, and this often confuses me.”

After watching Harry Potter, she asked: “Why doesn’t Harry Potter like Hermione? Hermione is beautiful, smart, and a top student.” The mother asked her daughter, “What do you think about that?”

The girl analyzed: “Harry Potter and Hermione are sincere friends who study and grow up together, facing countless hardships to defeat Voldemort. So, the unbreakable bond between them is that of comrades-in-arms.”

The mother said, “It seems that male and female classmates can also form a life-and-death friendship like siblings.” The girl said, “It seems so, but I’ve never met such a friend. Just wait patiently!” The mother smiled and winked at her.

Different works portray love differently, and children will gradually form their own understanding as they mature.

Help children envision a longer-term future

Li Qingming, former principal of Nanshan Affiliated School of the Central Institute of Education (China), once said that educating children about love is more important than sex education. The former belongs to humanities education, while the latter is scientific education. This form of education should be prioritized, starting even from kindergarten and elementary school.

Let children recognize the beauty of love from an early age. This will provide them with a value system as they face sexual maturity and marriage in the future.

Sun Yunxiao wrote, “Parents will scold their children when they confess their love. In fact, young lovers are usually passionate and full of spring in their hearts. They don’t care about family background, wealth, or age; only love is the most important thing, just as the great writer Goethe praised it as ‘the purest and most innocent part of human nature’.”

In reality, young hearts in love often crave understanding and guidance from adults, especially their parents.

Help children envision a longer-term future.

Reading books helps children understand the meaning of love

Reading great literary works is the best way to educate children about love. These books teach children the kind of love they should strive for.

For example, some books deeply explore the issue of equality between men and women in love. Other books document the difficult coming-of-age journey of a girl from a humble background, as she relentlessly pursues freedom and dignity, persists in self-improvement, and ultimately finds happiness.

As children grow up, new issues about love will continue to arise. Parents should guide and share their wisdom, helping their children navigate these new challenges without confusion.