These Are Our Bodies

Talking Faith & Sexuality at Church & Home - Parent Book

• Easily accessible, theologically progressive, mainline Christian Education resource on human sexuality for parents of middle school age children and teens • Middle School module component for the These Are Our Bodies program Participating in These Are Our Bodies paves the way for more open communication between middle-schoolers and parents, including the connection between sexuality and faith. This Parent Guide is a parent or caregiver's first step on the journey. The most effective teaching about sexuality includes both children and parents. Children have been watching their parent and learning from them since birth. The most basic gestures, attitudes, and comments teach our children how to think about their bodies. For children in middle school, the information that they need to be informed and empowered is changing. One goal of this program is to help parents communicate knowledge, skills, and values to their middle-schoolers and to make that vital connection between faith and sexuality. Parents sometimes feel anxious about tackling the next stage of questions, and this program gives parents the information needed to jump right into conversations with a growing child. Participants have a Participant Book, which will be theirs to use during the program and to keep as a reference after the program is over. This Parent Book, however, is meant to be a resource just for parents or caregivers. This book will keep the parent informed about each session. In each chapter, they will read about what the middle-schooler is learning. They are invited to reflect on some of the scripture that they are studying. Each chapter also includes journal questions that will help connect faith with sexuality and with parenting. The reader will learn new ways to think about sexuality and how faith is relevant to understanding the complexities of sexuality. In this program both participants and parents learn and grow together. See the Leader Guide for topics of each session. Audience: parents and caregivers