Dr. Ruth’s Guide to Teens and Sex Today by Dr. Ruth Westheimer and Pierre Lehu ’67. Pierre has linked up with Dr. Ruth again, this time to help parents negotiate the tricky waters of sex and teens. Parents will find the authors’ practical approach reassuring. Traditional values (sex should occur within a relationship – friends with benefits is just a bad idea) combine with realistic strategies (giving a boy a subscription to Playboy might be a way to counter online sleaze). Central is the idea that parents need to face up to their own nervousness and become well-informed on all things sexual. Then they must open the channels of communication so that conversations are encouraged. The parents’ job is to keep the kids safe. The book addresses the new challenges the Internet has created. Each chapter ends with a helpful section for girls and another for boys. Biggest take-away is that talking with teens about sex is just part of responsible parenting.
