Children need to learn about HIV and AIDS at a very early age. By the time your children are 3 or 4 years old, make sure you have clearly explained the following: 

• cover cuts and sores with bandages or gauze pads to avoid contact with any kind of germs. 
• never touch needles or syringes. If they see someone who is bleeding or if they find a needle or syringe, they should tell an adult. Remind your children never to touch a needle or syringe if they find one in the garbage or on the ground; and 
• AIDS cannot be caught by playing with HIV-infected children. 

By grade-school age, your child should begin to have a better understanding of illness and body parts. He or she should begin to learn more about how HIV can and cannot be spread. 

Sex 

Adolescents and teens need to know that the best way to protect themselves against HIV and AIDS is not to have any type of sexual intercourse. Reassure the child that it is all right to postpone sexual intercourse until he or she is married or in a long-term, mature relationship. If adolescents or teens do not postpone having sexual intercourse, then regular and proper use of latex condoms and limiting the relationship to one partner will help them avoid HIV infection. This will also lower the risk of getting other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) such as syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia infection and genital warts. Adolescents should also know about other types of birth control. However, it should be emphasized that other forms of birth control do NOT prevent HIV infection or other STDs.

Drugs

Adolescents need to know about the extreme risk of being infected with HIV if they use drugs, especially intravenous (IV) drugs that are injected with needles. Sharing a needle or syringe spreads blood from one person to another. A nondrug user who has sexual intercourse with an HIV-infected drug user can be infected with HIV. Sharing needles for non-drug use, such as for tattoos, ear piercing, purposely scarring or cutting oneself with needles or razors, or injecting drugs including steroids, can also spread HIV. 

Talk to your adolescent about drugs to make sure he or she understands that using any drugs, including alcohol, is not healthy. The risk of gett ing HIV increases even when non-IV drugs, like alcohol or cocaine, are used because these drugs aff ect a person’s judgment and may lead to risky behaviors — such as having sexual intercourse without a latex condom or having sex with multiple partners.