JackPaul:
Does anyone have any recommendations for books that can aid in adolescent sex education?
I think one of the problems we can have is still thinking of it as “sex education”. When addressing these issues with my children (my oldest boy is 10 1/2 ), we talk about God’s plan for marriage and family.
I remember being handed a “sex education” book by my Mother with the comment “please ask me if you have any questions”. Well, there weren’t too many questions. Instead, this book indirectly led me straight out of the Church. Why, it told me masturbation was normal and natural. Heck, I didn’t even know what masturbation was at that point, but the book sure led me to figuring it out.
Next thing I knew, I believed if the Church was wrong on masturbation, it must be wrong on pre-marital sex, and then it was wrong on a bunch of things that were pleasurable. After quitting for years, I literally no longer believed that Jesus was Lord.
I am late for work so I have to be brief. Web search on Jason Evert. His book is probably available right here on Catholic Answers.
He and many others now strongly state that it is harmful to give explicit details on intercourse. All it does is feed the adolescent male’s imagination and become itself a “near occasion for sin”. There isn’t anyone who has gotten married and not been able to figure out how “it” is done. Instead focus on the Church’s teaching on chastity, marriage, family.
Another resource to learn from would be Christopher West. Also, read any online articles by Jason Evert or Christopher West. Besides teaching our children, they are good for us as well.
Whatever you do, read it first and make sure you aren’t leading them astray. Good luck.