For many dads, talking with their teenager about sex and relationships can feel like a minefield.

Popular culture doesn’t provide many good examples of how to have these conversations, and many fathers didn’t have these conversations at all with their own fathers.

For instance, in a 2021 study from Australia, 65% of fathers reported inviting their children to talk with them about sexuality, while less than 30% reported that their own fathers talked with them about it – a jump of 35% in one generation. This finding aligns with my own U.S.-based work, which finds a similar generational discrepancy.

This huge cultural shift is fascinating to me as a research scientist who studies adolescent development, sexual health and risk-taking, and family communication about sexuality and relationships. I’m a research scientist. In recent years I have delved into the role that fathers play, why that’s important, and what fathers need to support their teens’ sexual health.

Generational differences

Compared to fathers from the 1980s, current fathers are more actively involved in raising their children and see their parenting role as a meaningful one beyond serving as a financial provider. A 2026 paper from the American Institute for Boys and Men found that since the pandemic, college-educated dads have increased their time doing housework and childcare by over four hours a week.

Research shows these changes can make a difference. When parents work together to parent their children, children show stronger attachment to their parents and improved capacity to manage their emotions. This also applies to divorced parents, whose children show........

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