To start: no, there are no “trusted male figures” in our lives. My brothers & father are all conservative, and I DO NOT trust them to properly explain things without shame and/or religious context.

My son knows the basics of reproduction, but I’ve never really explained what’s “normal” things for a teenage boy to go through… mainly because I don’t know!

I’ve definitely put it off, so he’s almost 14 and is much more physically mature than most of his peers (he’s got hair in places, shaves his face regularly, etc.)… but I’m embarrassed to admit that I know next to nothing about anything else…

Could y’all help me out? What did you go through that he should know about? What should I know about?

Many thanks to anyone who can help. Please don’t be unkind. Much appreciated.

EDIT: Thank you so much for all the advice so far!! Please keep it up!!

My son & I have very open communication & a very good relationship.

  • Krudler@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    At some point. For the love of all that is holy you MUST tell you son the following: Never come in a woman unless you want a baby. Even if she tells you to. Even if she claims she is protected.

    NEVER COME IN A WOMAN WITH WHOM YOU DO NOT WISH TO HAVE A BABY

    Women will baby-trap the living fuck out of young men. He NEEDS to know this.

        • vonbaronhans@midwest.social
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          1 month ago

          Weirdos end up on Lemmy. Many of us are a splendidly wonderful, if pedantic, sort.

          And then there’s the weirdos that… aren’t that. The ones who never built social skills or the ability to look at the world from beyond their own limited experiences. The ones who extrapolate with reckless abandon, usually in the traditional directions of punching down.

          I’m sorry if they or someone they know got baby-trapped, but that is DEFINITELY not the usual nor should it be phrased like it is.

            • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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              1 month ago

              His point isn’t wrong. He could have explained it better but telling a teenage boy how to not get girls pregnant regardless of what they tell him is not a bad idea. I definitely had experiences with girls I slept with telling me not to worry about it and at least one of them went on to have a teen pregnancy by another dude. They weren’t trying to trap me. They were just dumb. So was I and I got really lucky that there were no consequences. Teenagers say and do dumb shit and the more cognizant your son is of that the better. If he’s anything like me he’s not going to be thinking about consequences in the moment.

              • SharkEatingBreakfast@sopuli.xyzOP
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                1 month ago

                His point isn’t wrong

                Women will baby-trap the living fuck out of young men. He NEEDS to know this.

                The above sentence is the one I’m taking a stand against. The rest was fine up until that.

  • BJHanssen@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    I think one of the more important things you can get across to him is this:

    Porn is fine, but it’s fiction. It’s no more real or realistic than the latest superhero blockbuster, and should be thought of that way. It’s entertainment, not education.

    There are sex ed channels on Youtube. Good ones. Sexplanations is one, but there are also others. Seek those out.

    I know this is going to be a very awkward conversation, but you have to understand this: he will be finding and watching porn, and most likely already is at 14. Don’t shame him for that. In any way. Let him know that you know, and that it’s normal, but that it’s important to think of it like it’s just the movies. Cos that’s what it is.

  • artificialfish@programming.dev
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    1 month ago

    This may be weird, but honestly I wish someone had just given me a copy of “she comes first” (a good book I still use today), and an Adam and Eve gift card. The last one I’ll give you one good reason: it’ll be a lot better if he’s fucking a toy than having sex as a teen. It’ll also make it a bit of a training experience, a lot of guys that age just want to know “what it’s like”.

    • hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      1 month ago

      Oh that’s great. Which ones? I doubt that Pride and Prejudice or The Very Hungry Caterpillar are very helpful here.

      If you can’t even recommend any book on this topic, then your comment really doesn’t help OP at all.