Parents have to be clear about their own sexual attitudes.

Houston, we have a sequencing problem.

And that is what the data suggests.

This is a topic that has been covered a lot in the press over the last 3 or 4 years. But past reports were based on anecdote rather than fact. For the first time, we have some data that helps shed light on this subject.

The general sense is that, among teens, there is a greater comfort level with not having sex. That is something fundamentally different than existed 15 years ago.

For parents, I think these data show that conversations about sex need to be both broader and more specific. For healthcare providers, the implication is that we have to do a better job in getting messages to teens about the potential health risks of oral sex.

What (parents) do and say matters a lot when it comes to teens' decisions about sex. It's not just peers and popular culture that are steering the ship.

Parents ought not be afraid to talk to their children early and often about sex, love and relationships, and to be as specific as they are comfortable being.