What Fathers Can Do

At a glance

  • Teens sometimes engage in behaviors that increase their risks of illness, injury, and early death.
  • Teens are influenced by their parents’ values, beliefs, and expectations of appropriate behavior.
  • Recent findings suggest that fathers have a special opportunity to support the health and well-being of their teens.
A father having conversation with son.

Overview

Teens sometimes engage in behaviors that increase their risks of illness, injury, and early death. Sexual risk behaviors include having sex at an early age, having more than one sex partner, and not using condoms or other contraceptives. Engaging in these risk behaviors can lead to unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and HIV infection.

Teens are influenced by their parents' values, beliefs, and expectations of appropriate behavior.

Research has largely focused on mothers. However, recent findings suggest that fathers may parent in ways that differ from mothers. Therefore, fathers have an opportunity to support the health and well-being of their teens.

Common questions

What can you do to help your teen avoid sexual risk behaviors? As the father of a teen, you can do the following.

  • Be well informed about your teen's daily activities, friends, and whereabouts.
  • Set up family rules to guide your teen's behavior. You may want to include your teen in discussions about appropriate rules and their enforcement.
  • Consider positive ways you can encourage your teen to follow the rules.
  • Check in regularly to be sure your teen is following the rules.

Make sure your teen understands what your expectations are regarding:

  • Time to be home on a school night.
  • Age they can go on a date.
  • Adult supervision at parties.
  • No alcoholic beverages or drugs.

  • Get to know your teen—what he or she likes and does.
  • Spend time with your teen by enjoying shared activities—going on walks, playing sports, biking, shopping, listening to music, traveling.
  • Take time to listen and learn about your teen's life. One of the most important ways to connect with your teen is to understand their world.

  • Be available to talk with your teen, and do so regularly.
  • Talk about the importance of making healthy decisions.
  • Discuss the consequences of risky sexual behavior.
  • Encourage your teen to ask you questions; be prepared to give fair and honest answers.
  • When your teen shares personal information with you, don't overreact. Your teen is asking for your input and wants to know how you feel. Let your teen know you value their opinion, even if it is different from yours.

  • Be a good role model.
  • Be aware of your own behavior and show your teen how to be healthy and avoid risks.
  • Build a positive relationship.

Things that can make a difference in reducing your teen's sexual risk behavior include:

  • The emotional closeness of your relationship with your teen.
  • Your attitudes toward teen sex.
  • Your level of involvement with your teen.

Resources

This fact sheet is based on the following publication: Guilamo-Ramos, V., Bouris, A., Lee, J., McCarthy, K., Michael, S. L., Pitt-Barnes, S., & Dittus, P., (2012). Paternal influences on adolescent sexual risk behaviors — A structured literature review. Pediatrics, 130, 1313–1325.

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Content Source:
Adolescent and School Health; National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion