In my house growing up, sex was not a taboo subject. This is not to say that the intimate details of the physical act, whatever iteration it may take, were ever discussed at the dinner table. But my early forays into dating were the easy subject of gentle jokes, and were discussed openly and often. Before I was ever in a serious relationship (a prospect that, as soon as it gained a desirable allure, seemed further out of reach than ever), my parents told me that I could come to them when and if I felt birth control would be appropriate.
