SEX IN CONTEXT: FAMILIES

HOURS AND RATES

November 8th, 9:00-4:00

Conference Rate: $325

Early Bird Rate: $275

*Early Bird registration ends September 15th

EVENT DESCRIPTION

In today's digital age, children and teens are inundated with unfiltered messages about sex, often before they reach their teenage years. 34% of 18-year-olds report they've "never" or only "once" talked with their parents about the decision of when to have sex, and multiple studies report fewer than half of teens use contraception when having sex for the first time. Without parental support, young people are vulnerable to influences that distort intimacy, pressure conformity, and overlook consent.

A 2022 Common Sense Media report reveals that 73% of teens aged 13-17 have watched pornography, with 54% encountering it before age 13, and 15% at age 10 or younger. Only 7% of these teens said their parents knew they were watching such content.

Over 60% of teens say they have engaged sexually only because they felt pressure.

1 in 3 students say they later regretted their decision to have sex.

This data underscores the urgent need for open, informed, and age-appropriate conversations within families about sex and relationships.

Sex in Context: Families is a one-day conference for parents, caregivers, and educators who are ready to do the work to support their kids.

Whether your child is 5 or 17, this conference will equip you with the knowledge and tools to support them in developing healthy, respectful, and joyful relationships. Let's reclaim sexuality education from unfiltered online sources and put it back where it belongs: in the hands of informed, caring adults.

COMPETENCIES AND TAKE-AWAYS

• Up-to-date research on what kids and teens are actually seeing, doing, and navigating online

• Relational tools and scripts for initiating meaningful conversations that resonate with children and teens

• Insights into how sexual development is influenced by media, culture, and interpersonal connections

• Guidance from sexuality education experts, adolescent health professionals, and high school students who will share firsthand experiences and insights

KEYNOTE PRESENTERS

Deborah Roffman, educator, consultant and author of many books including Talk to Me First:  Everything You Need to Know to Become Your Child’s Go-to Person About Sex; But How Did I Get Here in the First Place: Talking to Your Young Child About Sex; and Sex and Sensuality: The Thinking Parent’s Guide to Talking Sense About Sex. Named one of Time Magazine’s “Top Sixteen Parenting Experts for the 21st Century,” A human sexuality educator, consultant, and author based in Baltimore, Maryland, she has taught sexuality education in grades 3-12 at the Park School for more than 40 years. In addition to her constant writing and teaching, she’s worked with parents, teachers, counselors, administrators, students, alumni, and trustees at more than 400 schools and organizations across the country, and she’s published widely throughout the national media. 

Shafia Zaloom, health educator, curriculum designer and author of Sex, Teens and Everything in Between. Shafia has worked with thousands of children and their families in her role as teacher, coach, administrator, board member, and outdoor educator. She has contributed articles to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and numerous parenting blogs. Shafia’s book, Sex, Teens and Everything in Between has been reviewed as “the ultimate relationship guide for teens of all orientations and identities.” It is one that “every teen, and every parent and educator - and every other adult who interacts with teens - should read.” Shafia is currently a health teacher at the Urban School in San Francisco, teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and develops curricula and trainings for schools across the country. She was honored by the San Francisco Giants Foundation in 2018 for her work with Aim High, a program that expands opportunities for students  and their teachers through tuition-free summer learning enrichment, and was recently granted CAHPERD’s Health Teacher of the Year Award for 2021. Her work has been featured by many media outlets including, The New York Times, USA Today, NPR, KQED, and PBS. 

Dr. Cara Natterson, MD is a leading voice in puberty and adolescent health. A pediatrician, speaker, and the co-host of The Puberty Podcast, she is the author of ten books, including the bestselling This Is So Awkward: Modern Puberty Explained and the New York Times bestselling The Care and Keeping of You series. When her own kids started puberty, Cara founded Order of Magnitude, the first company aimed at making this stage of life more comfortable with product and content. Cara graduated from Harvard college and Johns Hopkins Medical School, trained at UCSF, and lives in Los Angeles.

Perrin Ireland, researcher, illustrator and artist. Creator of Thirsty Science Newsletter and substack. Perrin Ireland’s work is a collaboration with the natural world, scientists, and the viewer, whose engagement informs her visual and performance research. She has built an art practice inside scientific and policy institutions, telling stories situated between what we know about the planet and our belonging to it. She began by illustrating a marine biology lab’s research at Brown University while earning a science degree. From 2012-2022, she created watercolor animated videos about climate change, oceans, and endangered animals at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Her work has appeared at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Discover Magazine, Nature Magazine, Scientific American, Damn Joan Magazine, Physics World, and The Rumpus. Recent experience includes the 2022 Format Festival in Bentonville, Arkansas; a Summer 2022 Carpenter's Boatshop Residency in Pemaquid, Maine; a 2021 Works on Water residency on Governors Island and the ICAMiami/Knight Foundation Art + Research Center's Fall 2021 Oceanic Archive Semester.