It is the talk that almost every parent dreads - at least a little bit: The Talk.
Talking about the birds and the bees - sexual health - is almost always awkward for parents, teens and sometimes both of us.
I know I get a bit of stage fright, but I try not to let it stop me. My son smirks, laughs, slaps his forehead with his palm and handles as much as he can before saying, "Okay, Dad. I get it," before we take a couple weeks off from the topic.
It's a tough talk - but it's one we parents have to be willing to have with our children.
"I have an 11-year-old. I try to explain things to him, and he's like, 'Mommmm, stop!' - so I understand," said Valerie Fisher.
She's the Educational Project Officer for the New Mexico Department of Health's Family Planning Program.
"I think our teen birth rates speak for themselves," said Fisher. "The numbers are declining; we're very proud of that, but New Mexico remains in the top three nationally over the past few years."
Education plays a huge role in reducing the number of teen pregnancies - but it's hard to reach everyone.
"Community outreach is a challenging aspect of public health because you've got to go where the clients are," Fisher said.
To that end - the Department of Health this week began reaching teens and parents in a way it never has before: through their cell phone.
The department Monday launched its "BrdsNBz" text messaging service.
Teens ages 13 to 19 can text "NMTeen" and parents can text "NMParent" to 66746 to ask questions in either English or Spanish, and a trained health educator will respond within 24 hours.
"This is a great tool," said Fisher. "It educates teens; they learn some things maybe they didn't know, and it even helps them ask their parents better questions."
It's funny when you think about it - our kids actually turning to us for advice? It may feel like that never happens, but research shows teens want to ask us - but too often we don't talk to them.
Fifty-seven percent of parents in the U.S. said they feel only somewhat comfortable or very uncomfortable talking with their kids about sex, according to a poll commissioned by the Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health, among others.
"BrdsNBz educates and breaks down some of the barriers they might have talking to their child about sexual health. Texting questions and getting answers means parents won't feel put on the spot. It can break some of the barriers they're feeling of discomfort," said Fisher.
One thing's for sure - when it comes to learning to talk to your kids about the birds and the bees, there's no such thing as a stupid question.
"A lot of time people don't want to ask questions because they think 'I should know this,' or they think 'If I don't know this, it's out of sight/out of mind,'" said Fisher. "This program will hopefully cut through a lot of that anxiety."
Through the text line, parents will receive recommendations on ways they can increase their skills in talking to their teen about sexual health.
One of the best things Fisher says about "BrdsNBz" is not just what it teaches teens and parents, but what it's expected to teach the Department of Health.
"I think we're going to learn exactly what's going on in New Mexico," said Fisher about the state's high teen birth rates. "It's very easy for me speculate what the issues are in communities, but until you really know why it's going on, you can't fix it.
"We'll track frequently asked questions, and learn where the majority of text questions are coming from. It's definitely going to give us some data about where the department needs to go or do next," said Fisher.
BrdsNBz is free, confidential, and accurate. For more information on the program, log onto nmhealth.org/phd/fp/tpp-bnb.shtml.
David Morgan writes for the New Mexico Department of Health and co-hosts with Amanda Askin and Anela Flores on "Prescription for Health" Wednesdays from 4 to 6 p.m. on KSNM-AM 570. Learn more about Preventive Medicine Clinic by logging onto healthynm.org.