It’s never fun when you’re thinking about having “the talk” with your teen about sex. Maybe your teen doesn’t think you’re capable of giving the talk or they don’t seem interested in it. On the flip side, maybe you don’t feel comfortable giving it.

When people skip having a conversation full of facts with their teen, that child will often end up lacking the facts they need about sex. That means the teen could be at a higher risk of pregnancy or sexually transmitted infections. It’s important that you have this incredibly important, life-changing conversation with your teen, no matter how awkward it seems.

We’ve put together a list of six ways to better equip yourself for this talk.

1: Get Educated

The Internet can be a helpful resource when finding topics to talk about with your teen about sex. Scarleteen provides lots of great information but there are many other sites out there that you can search. Geared with the right information you can edit your talk to what you feel is most appropriate for your child.

2. Don’t Frighten Them

Maybe you’ve thought about scaring them by telling them they’ll get a sexually transmitted disease or pregnant. A lot of parents depend on this tactic and hope that their teen will choose abstinence. There are many problems with this, one of the biggest being that there’s a high correlation between teens that pledge to abstinence and higher rates of sexually transmitted infections.

3. Cover All Of Your Bases

Be comprehensive with your talk, don’t just focus on consent and condoms. Educate them about those two topics, but also educate them about birth control and how to access STI treatment and testing if something does go wrong.

4. Spotlight Consent

Give this topic the grand stage when talking. If you need help relating it to something, this great video of tea will be of great help to you.

5. Help Your Child Access Tools

Maybe your child is interested in sex and this conversation has opened a bigger conversation on how to access birth control or condoms. Or maybe this conversation was too late, and they’re suffering from an STI. Don’t panic. Help your child in the best way that’s possible. Help your child get to a health care provider or a drug store for condoms.

6: Brace Yourself

These conversations get easier. If you start with age-appropriate talks you can focus on the keys at a proper age and grow from there as they do. This means you won’t have to tackle all of the hard stuff at once, and it hopefully won’t be too late.

Don’t stress, you’re learning too! If you haven’t had a conversation with your teen yet about sex, it’s probably time to start thinking about it. If you’re still struggling with ideas, reach out to your family doctor – they’ll be able to answer questions, as well.