 We all know of fathers, who do not hunt, but consider purchasing a rifle when their daughters start to date. Fathers have valid reason to be concerned that a slick young guy (who a daughter thinks is cool) will jeopardize his daughter’s potential for a good life. Fathers know the average guy does not have a value system of integrity and a guaranteed plan for success, but only a bunch of temporary promises for his daughter that can lead to a lifetime of disappointments and struggles. However, fathers, who demonstrate a crazed behavior towards their daughter’s date or boyfriend, cause frustration, confusion and embarrassment for their daughter. There is a more effective way of getting a message of protection and parental love across to your teen. Now is a time to be level-headed or you risk losing your daughter to an ungodly, arrogant “bad boy.” It is essential, as a father, to remain calm and use an effective approach to convince your daughter that she needs to be armed with wisdom, to see through schemes and false promises of young guys. TEENS DO NOT LIKE LIVING IN A SILENT WORLD Teens (females and males) want to make good decisions, but if parents do not provide guidance, they leave teens to figure out major life issues on their own. Teens of parents, who keep silent concerning issues of sex and relationships, are left to feel that they are an outsider of a secret world, and therefore, teens think they need to rush to be a part of that world. The most effective approach to protect your teen daughter from getting intimately involved with someone is to arm her with truth, the ammunition to protect her integrity, her dreams and her future. In like manner, parents, arm your son with wisdom to protect him from “fast” ungodly, young ladies, looking to trap him into adult responsibilities before he pursues his life dreams. If you include your teen in conversations on how to apply godly wisdom and truth in mature situations, you will stifle the uncomfortable feeling of exclusion from secular activities, such as premarital sex. TEENS NEED MORE THAN RULES Parents, you cannot simply give teens a bunch of rules, as you did when they were toddlers; now, you have to participate in, and initiate, mature and open discussions with your teens. A teen, who is only given rules, without reasoning, cannot make sound judgment calls in real life situations when he or she comes against a sophisticated, arrogant peer, who operates by a code of disrespect to the opposite sex, adults and God. A teen has to have a solid life plan of virtue that sees through any covert intentions that are contrary to his or her success. "THE TALK" YOUR TEEN NEEDS IS NOT ABOUT SEX The talk a parent needs to have with a teen (whether a daughter or son) is not so much a “sex talk,” but an ongoing discussion to discern the real intentions of people, in life and on social media (on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram), who have ulterior motives that can destroy one’s life. When a teen learns that all people are not truthful in what they say and a teen learns to discern the intentions of people who lack a worthwhile purpose in life, they can feel empowered. You can be a God-sent for your teen by helping him or her discover and execute the prosperous plan God has assigned for his or her life, specifically showing the importance of honoring God’s command to not have sex before marriage, and wait to marry someone of the same faith and beliefs. (For more info, read “5 Prosperous Reasons Teens Should Not Have Sex.”) It's a parent's responsibility to "arm" a teen with truth and wisdom to combat reckless behavior and unsound thinking of ungodly peers. If you don't talk to your teen, you leave your teen vulnerable to young guys and girls, who convey fabricated information to get what they want. So, be a parent that arms your daughter or son with the truth (an on-going discussion of how to "read" people, to protect against reckless and ungodly intentions.) For more information, subscribe to read “5 Prosperous Reasons Teens Should Not Have Sex.” Also, order “How to Hear God to Prosper,” a must-read for teens and adults to discover and stay on a successful path in life. © VC Edwards 2014, All rights reserved. Related reads: 5 Prosperous Reasons Teens Should Not Have Sex The Prosperity of a Virtuous Woman Who to Avoid When Looking for a Spouse Singles Guide to Marriage  |    |