It is important to instill in all children a sense of comfort in communicating with their parents. As your child gets older, the questions and struggles that your child needs to address with you become more difficult. The queries dont always have easy answers, but it is important to answer your child as honestly as is appropriate. As the trust and comfort builds in your child, you will realize that it is more comfortable for you, and that the scary, awkward conversations you have been dreading are now completely manageable.

I became a single mom at 22. I quickly learned that the dating world I had just entered was light years away my teenage years, when I had last been single. I decided I needed some sort of guidelines to follow; a sort of roadmap, which of course didnt exist in the Geography section (or self-help section) of Barnes & Noble. So I charted my own course, starting with two general rules: No relationships for 6 months, and Dates only on the nights I didnt have my son