It has been said that kids that age are nothing “but hormones and nerve endings”. But truthfully, always the biggest impact on their behavior will be from their parents and family. Teachers have a lot less influence than you might think.
However, their peers have a lot more pull. Because the odds are, if and when they want to have sex, or even before they want to have sex, it will be with their peers. And this should send a message to parents that as they influence their children, other parents influence their children as well.
And some of them will influence their children in bad ways.
The way to short circuit this is to be aware of your child’s peers. It doesn’t hurt to encourage some contempt in your child for his peers that are problematic. Often they will emulate your disregard, and think less of these peers as well.
You can steer them away from drug users, the sexually and legally irresponsible, those that drink and smoke. A few anecdotes about losers you knew in school will go a long way.
Also explain “the enemy gun” theory. That is, soldiers in combat often think the enemies gun is better than theirs, because they do not see the effects of their own gun. Children often very falsely assume that their peers live different and much more enjoyable lives.
If you ask high school students, they are of a mind that their peers have regular sex, have lots of parties, drink liquor, do drugs, and generally do all the things that they don’t do, but think they are told they might like to.
In truth, even among senior students, few have had sex more than once. And those few probably began having sex at a very young age, molested by adults they knew. And just a tiny group are in anything like a healthy relationship, with or without sex.
Many of the students that regularly drink and do drugs have serious personal and family problems. While many students drink some and do some drugs, the small number of hardcore users are pretty pitiful.
Finally, point out that some of their peers have “quick fuses”, that they will probably get married right out of high school, have kids for a few years after that, and be middle aged by the time they are 30. Grandparents by 36.
But the vast majority want to have a life before they even consider marriage. A career, some creativity, to live a little, to shop around for a good spouse, not just whoever is handy. They have a slower metabolism, which is normal.
Just knowing things is a big motivator to self control. And that includes the bad things.
I call them hormones with feet :)
Parents are the most influential imo but these aren’t children. They’re teens (and not so long they were considered adults) and they’re going to do whatever they do when it comes to sex. I don’t think teens were having less sex back in the 50s or so or whenever, they just weren’t letting anyone know.