Thursday’s PD letters-to-the-editor included one from Allison M. Hile, Interim Director, Teen Pregnancy and Prevention Partnership. Topic: reducing teen pregnancy. Writer Hile said, “If talking directly to your kids about sex gives you the jitters, learn more about how to do it and find out what your [public school] district is teaching. You may be surprised at how little it is.”

Perhaps “talking directly to your kids about sex” does give many parents the jitters and perhaps that’s why so many public school parents support sex ed in the schools. But who is doing the teaching and what are they saying? What values are they imparting? There has to be a better way.

Our beloved friend and neighbor, the late Jim Bick Sr. — the Catholic layman who helped start Gateway Academy on Wild Horse Creek Road — introduced the Family Honor program to the St. Louis Archdiocese five years ago. The Family Honor Program returns parents to their rightful role as primary educator of their children, sex ed included.

Participants — teens, their parents and the program’s presenters — talk about the totality of sexuality, using the SPICE concept: the spiritual, physical, intellectual, creative and emotional aspects of sexuality.

According to a March 28 article in the St. Louis Review, our archdiocesan paper, parents are learning to connect with their kids in a way that surprises them. One of the presenters, Dan Deschler, says “What makes the Family Honor different and worth its weight in gold is the fact that it’s done with the parent…In other words, a parent can’t just come and drop off their child.” Mr. Deschler acknowledged that were it not for the program, he is not sure how he would have handled a recent discussion initiated by one of his sons: “He and I had some pretty intimate discussions. I am absolutely sure that if it weren’t for this program, he wouldn’t have felt comfortable talking about this stuff with us. And I certainly wouldn’t have felt comfortable about it.”

And there is no topic that’s off limits, stated another parent, Lynn Kelly, “But certainly it’s couched in the beauty of God’s plan for us.”

For more information, visit www.familyhonor.org.