Today’s post is a potpourri of information for you, parents. I couldn’t decide which topic I wanted to focus on, so I decided I’d share three different things with you. All the documents are printable, so you can run them off and keep them handy!
W4YM uses the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy as a resource quite often. Although it is not considered “abstinence only”, it is an excellent source of information about teen culture, pregnancy and STDs.
This week I noticed an article on sexting that has plenty of interesting statistics for parents. Are you wondering how prevalent sexting really is amongst our teens? Check it out.
Additionally, the National Campaign had scripts for parents who want to talk to their teens about relationships and dating. When reading through this, I thought some of the wording was a bit cliche, but it does set a framework for how you can start and continue a conversation. If you don’t like the wording, or think it may cause some eye-rolling, keep the concept but substitute some of your own words.
Finally, during our parent workshops, we inform parents that current statistics show that roughly 3 in 10 teen girls will become pregnant by the end of high school. A startling statistic, no? How do they figure it out? Read it here: http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/pdf/FactSheet_3in10_Apr2008.pdf