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New research shows that the sex talk is more uncomfortable for teens than parents.  

A new Family Circle survey asked 2,000 parents and teens about their experience with the “birds and the bees” conversation.

Eighty-two percent of adolescents between the ages of 15-18 admitted that they felt anxiety when their parents sat them down to discuss sex or relationships.  Fifty percent of parents, on the other hand said that they felt uneasy about conducting the conversation.

Nine out of 10 teens said that they would prefer to not have the sex conversation with their parents while 16 percent revealed that the topic has never been addressed.

Despite the uncomfortable situation, 82 percent of parents with teens said that they are aware that their child had intercourse. Only 45 percent of parents said that they knew their teen engaged in oral sex.

Survey results also revealed two vastly different views about the information passed between parent and teen:

Forty-two percent of parents claim that they’ve encouraged their teen to abstain from sex while only 27 percent of teens said that they’ve had the talk.

When it comes to birth control methods, 29 percent of parents said that they’ve discussed options with their children. However, only 35 percent of teens recall the conversation or said that they’ve only had it one time.

Thirty-nine percent of parents said they’ve talked about the risks of sexting (sending sexually explicit text messages) with their teen. But, 41 percent of adolescents said that they’ve never discussed sexting or only had the conversation once.