Research shows that actively engaging youth and their parents in sexuality education helps youth to make healthier decisions about their sex lives and suffer fewer negative outcomes such as unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV/AIDS.

Youth who have goals for the future and are involved in their education consistently make choices that promote their general well-being. Engaging youth can mean different things for different communities and can range from in-class involvement of peer leaders to promoting civic engagement and youth/adult partnerships. Visit our Engaging Youth[a1] page to learn more.

Parents remain the most important and effective sexuality educators for their children. While classroom education is important and provides often much needed factual information, parents and guardians help to shape their children’s views and values associated with their sexual development. Some parents may feel they need extra support and information to have “the talk” with confidence and to keep the conversation going over the years while their children grow into adulthood.  Colorado Youth Matter is committed to providing tools that help professionals working with parents to better engage families in the sexual education of their youth. Please visit our Engaging Parents[a2] page to learn more.