It's not every day that you come across something online that you think is truly different, useful and, even fun. The other day I came across a website, "Maria Talks," that I think meets this criteria. The site was created through funding from the Massachusetts government, and it operates in conjunction with the Massachusetts Sexual Health Hotline. As someone who has spent plenty of time searching the web for resources on sexual health and birth control, I think that this site stands out.

At The National Campaign, we often send the message that safe sexual practices among teens are best achieved through ongoing conversation and communication. First and foremost, teens themselves have told us their parents most influence their decisions about sex, and we have long asked parents to take the lead and start that open and ongoing conversation with their children.

I must admit that I have been a reluctant participant to blogging, but finally something caught my attention. Recently, I had two interactions with a shopping mall that revealed to me the younger generation's--albeit, misguided in my opinion--obsession with looking good. I am a child of the 60's, when mothers routinely reminded us to wear clean underwear and never to leave the house without a slip and girdle when wearing a dress. As an African-American, I was often told to be careful with the selection of the color of my lipstick, so that my lips would not be too pronounced. "The times they are a-changin'".

In case you haven't seen the Campaign's newest publication, I highly recommend it. And not just because I work here.

As someone who is admittedly ALWAYS attached to some form of media, the format for these helpful tips really strikes a chord with me. While I generally make my contribution to the Campaign's work by keeping my nose buried in some piece of legislation (light reading, anyone?) this got me thinking about the work that my colleagues on the other side of the office do to figure out all the ways we can reach folks through digital media.

These types of projects are becoming increasingly popular with our partners who work on teen pregnancy prevention. The Birds and Bees Text Line, which is sponsored by the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina and has garnered national media attention, and the text messaging contest that FutureNet in Iowa held earlier this year are just a couple examples.

Are your organizations, states, or communities doing innovative work to connect with those of us who are tethered to our handheld devices? How are you using digital media to advance pregnancy planning and prevention? Are you sending text message reminders for people to take their pill? Texting appointment reminders? Let us know what you're doing!

Ps--if you're interested in learning more about how social media and mobile technology can be used to prevent teen pregnancy, check out our new youtube playlist of highlights from our June 26th conference "Taming the Media Monster: Teens and Sex in the Digital Age."

A new ad in Milwaukee bus shelters has a lot of people (or at least a lot of bloggers) talking about teen pregnancy. This ad isn't offensive so much as just gross--no one will dispute that babies do in fact produce dirty diapers--but it's clearly "edgy" enough to get the public's attention.

A post on AdFreak about the ad, which compares it to a viral video created with a similar purpose this past May (AdFreak deemed the diaper poster less "hard-hitting" than the video) got me thinking about controversial awareness-raising strategies for complex issues (like, oh, say...teen and unplanned pregnancy, for example).

When I started working at The National Campaign, I was myself offended by a National Campaign ad campaign--dubbed the "Labels" ads--which superimposed negative words on top of portraits of teens, accompanied in very small print by a more neutral message about the challenges of teen pregnancy and parenthood.

It was the weirdest "talk" we had ever had.

My mother had always been very open and honest with me when I had questions about sex and relationships, but this just took the cake. So what was this strange piece of unsolicited advice I received as we drove through my high school boyfriend's neighborhood?

"I know you really love him, but don't marry him. It's okay to have sex with him if you think that's the right thing to do."

Maybe she saw the gleam in my angst-y, seventeen-year-old eyes as we drove past his house on the way home from school that day. Maybe she remembered what it was like to be a teenager in love. Maybe she and her sisters had visited a spirit guide on their annual girls' night out earlier that year who told her that her youngest daughter would marry before the age of 20 (true story). Whatever it was - and I'm assuming it's probably a combination of all three of these factors - this was a message she delivered with the same urgency and conviction as the information she had been giving me about my body and birth control, the realities of raising kids, and all the other important stuff for my entire life.

1.4 million people bought The Sims 3 in the first week it was released, and I was one of them. For those of you who are not familiar with the franchise, here is the premise: The player creates characters, or "sims," and then controls pretty much everything about them, such as their clothes, house, and traits, and then makes all of their decisions for them. I know this sounds like it would be a total waste of time -- it is -- but it's really entertaining.

And when it comes to starting a family in the Sims, things get really interesting. Sims can "WooHoo" without the risk (or, according to some players, with very little risk) of getting pregnant, and to get pregnant the user has to select "Try for baby." As some people have said in various forums, "WooHoo" is considered by some to mean sex with contraception. Statistically speaking, this makes perfect sense. Even with perfect use of the pill, there's still a 1% risk of getting pregnant.

For "research purposes," I wanted to see what would happen if my single, broke Sim had a baby. She had no desire for a baby, but I control everything she does so she didn't have a choice. I had her invite her boyfriend over to her house and, long story short, when she suggested to him that they try to have a baby he rejected her advances completely (as evidenced in the above photo). And to think, he had no problem when he was WooHoo-ing with her the night before...

Well, you can't say the Brits aren't trying. Between a pilot program for low-income youth and a new pamphlet providing guidance to educators and adults on how to emphasize the potential positive aspects of sex, Britain has been making headlines for trying new approaches to reduce their high rates of teen pregnancy. Since our brilliant Senior Director of Research, Kelleen Kaye, already wrote a thoughtful post on the former strategy, I will stick to the latter.

The already-infamous "Pleasure" pamphlet apparently encourages discussion of the health benefits of masturbation and orgasms, among other things. And indeed many public health experts agree that masturbation is healthy and natural, though that perspective is not always presented in adolescent sex ed programs. In December 1994, then Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders commented that masturbation "is a part of human sexuality and it's a part of something that perhaps should be taught" in comprehensive sex education programs. This philosophy didn't serve Dr. Elders well in her career (she was eventually fired for the comment), but it has been espoused by advocacy organizations and many online sex education resources.

For the past several years more than half of teens surveyed in our occasional polls have told us that they wish they had waited to have sex. Martino and colleagues explore this concept in greater depth in the June edition of Perspectives in Sexual and Reproductive Health. They test the idea that TV contributes to these high levels of regret because TV sets unrealistically high expectations about the positive outcomes of sex (and teens might not actually experience these positive outcomes). The authors use data gathered from the same teens at 3 different time points from 2001-2004 to determine the impact of TV on feelings of regret about sexual initiation. They determine that their hypothesis is correct for teen boys who watch a lot of sex on TV, but not girls.

In other words, teen boys who watch a lot of sex on TV are more likely to report that their expectations about sex fall after they actually have sex. Girls' (who incidentally report much higher regret) expectations about sex remain consistent before and after they first have sex. Other reasons why teens regret having sex have to do with their readiness for sex, their partner, or the status of their relationship. Clearly this article raises a lot of important questions including...

Why do you think so many teens wish they had waited to have sex?

Do you think access to more sexually explicit material on the internet will influence sexual regret?

When I was in 7th or 8th grade, I was chosen to be one of 6 kids from my class to attend a "leadership workshop". It meant a weekend away from home with other kids of the same age from all over the Pittsburgh area, hanging out at a retreat facility and learning how to be better teenagers, better students, and better people in general. We did all of those activities typical of a weekend like that - ice breakers, team building stuff, reflections on life, our future goals, and everything in between. And even though it was more than 15 years ago, that weekend stands out in my memory as one of the hands-down best I've had...I remember the experience vividly and would do it again in a heartbeat.

So what's my point here? All these memories hit me today because The National Campaign is now accepting applications for our 2009-2010 Youth Leadership Team. The YLT is a similar sort of team building, weekend-adventure kind of thing, but with the added bonus that skills are used year-round. Let me explain... The YLT is a select group of 14- to 17-year-olds from across the nation who work with The National Campaign in a variety of ways: they serve as our eyes and ears when it comes to understanding teen culture, we call upon them to share their opinions and perspectives with the press, we show them off on Capitol Hill and have them talk to their Senators and Representatives about the importance of teen pregnancy prevention. Sometimes we even go bowling. We meet in person twice over their 18-month term, but we work together year-round to help them raise awareness about the issue in their home communities.

Do you know a teen who would be a great fit on our YLT? Take a minute to learn more about the Youth Leadership Team and read our YLT Frequently Asked Questions. If you know a teenager who you'd like to sponsor, download the YLT Application Packet here.

Spread the word!

The first thing I noticed about this video (besides the exaggeratedly bad acting)? Inaccurate information about contraception (it's true that abstinence is the only way to be 100% sure to avoid pregnancy and STDs, but using a condom is a lot safer than having sex without one). The second thing I noticed? Gender stereotypes turned upside down! Ok, I'm being a little dramatic, but really, it's almost refreshing to see all the old cliches of teens pressuring each other to have sex before they're ready reversed to show the girl as the aggressor. Contrary to popular belief, women's sex drives are comparable to men's, yet popular culture often perpetuates the stereotype that men always want sex and women--well--don't.

We all know it takes two to make a baby (well, so far, anyway?), yet the focus of teen pregnancy prevention and the responsibility for sexual decision-making in general so often falls upon young women. There are many good reasons for this, of course, including the fact that girls are often the ones who have to deal with the consequences of their sexual decisions and the fact that resources for prevention efforts are often very limited. Even so, guys have been getting a bit more much-deserved attention of late for the role they can and should play in forming healthy relationships and making responsible decisions. Nevertheless, many existing male involvement initiatives focus on men who are already fathers, rather than reaching young men before they become parents.

Today is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.  We hope that everyone concerned about teen pregnancy will do what they can to promote this fun and informative online event. The purpose of the National Day is to focus the attention of teens on the importance of avoiding too-early pregnancy and parenthood.

Thanks to the hard work of more than 200 National Day partners, state and local organizations who are organizing National Day events all across the country, and teens themselves, the National Day is already off to a strong start.  Already, more than 60,000 teens have participated by taking the National Day Quiz and more than 7,000 have added our National Day "Relationship Reality Pop Quiz" widget to their personal websites and social networking profiles.  The advance turnout for this year's event has simply been amazing and we expect that hundreds of thousands more will participate over the course of the month.

Remember, the National Day Quiz and Widget will both be online throughout May, so it's not too late to help spread the word. Need some ideas? Check out our Tips for Getting Involved. For more information, visit the National Day section of our website.

 

I am coming up on the fifth anniversary of my employment with The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy next week. When I joined the Campaign, one of my first tasks was to take over our annual teen awareness event, The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. This year will be my fifth National Day - the Campaign's eighth - and I feel like this event just gets better every year.

One thing that continually amazes me about the National Day is the groundswell of support that the event receives in communities across the nation. The National Day simply could not be a success without the hard work of the many organizations and individuals who organize and participate in National Day activities.

Here are some of my favorite stories sent this year by National Day friends from around the country:

• In Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Smart Teens/Healthy Decisions Coalition is gearing up for National Day with a number of activities. They plan to offer the National Day Quiz to students at local middle school and high school campuses and they are holding a National Day poster design contest for students. In addition, they are planning an event at a local middle school campus where students will present dramatic skits about avoiding risky behavior and peer pressure. Other schools in the county are being sent invitations to participate and being offered a free National Day kit with fliers, wristbands, and a list of ideas and offer of guest speakers from the Coalition.

• In San Jacinto, California, Valley Wide Counseling, a Program of MFI Recovery, is planning their third annual community event in recognition of the National Day. They are hosting the Know Limits Teen Health Challenge at the Hemet Valley Mall. The event is set for this Saturday (May 2) from 12-4pm and more than 40 community agencies and schools, as well as government and local business, are planning to attend. Several performances have been scheduled by the local cheer/dance teams, a band, DJ, and VITAL (an intergenerational theatre troupe). They also plan to have activities such as a raffle, rock wall, and an information scavenger hunt.

"hey whats up?"
"nothing what are you doing?"
"dont know, want to hang?"
"yeah come over"

A series of innocent text messages or a new system of courtship? From teens 'sexting' to twenty-somethings dating via Blackberry Messenger, the cell phone age has ushered in a new system of courtship that makes all-night phone conversations seem archaic and written love letters resemble ancient artifacts. Why bother calling the object of your desire when you can simply send a "what's up" in a text message? Who would take the time to actually get together with a potential love interest when BBM-ing allows the users to message in real-time speed? It's like real conversation, right?

Wrong. Not to mention, with new technology comes new etiquette. Capitalization, word choice, time in between messages; even abbreviations must be treated with the proper manners. Time matters. Late night texts may be construed as booty calls. Number of texts sent in a row matters. Two consecutive text messages: okay, if you have a good amount of information to convey. Three consecutive text messages: you might as well write 'needy' on your forehead.

Then there are the actual texts themselves. I'm the first to admit that I have spent hours analyzing every character in a 35-character text. Was the typo intentional? What does he mean by 'hang out'? Is 10pm considered late-night or did he just get off of work? How long do I need to wait to text him back? If my response is longer than the maximum allotted characters in a text can I send him two, or--gasp--hit the send button and just tell him with words in a phone call? A piece of technology invented to make correspondence easier and mobile has only complicated our relationships and caused a great deal of stress in an already stressful environment.

Want to hear the rules from a more scholarly source (as if one even exists...)? Check out this article from FoxNews.com's FOXSexpert.

Lauren Mann is an intern in the National Campaign's Entertainment Media and Audience Strategy department. She is a junior at George Washington University, majoring in Communications and Journalism.

We all go to plenty of meetings--some more interesting than others. One of the most energizing ones I've been to was a Roundtable last week that The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy hosted in conjunction with Healthy Teen Network, and with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, on the topic of teen pregnancy prevention among youth in foster care. Teams of program leaders and practitioners in the fields of teen pregnancy prevention and child welfare from eight states (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Virginia) rolled their sleeves up and went to work at an interactive roundtable where they developed concrete plans for how to reduce teen pregnancy among young people in and transitioning out of foster care through policy, program, and practice changes.

A highlight of the meeting was a panel with four young adults who had been in foster care and are currently involved with the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Stay tuned for a video of this session that will be available on our website soon. A DVD featuring some of the state experts at the meeting will also be available in the coming months.

The more than half a million children in foster care are at significant risk for pregnancy. One study found that almost half of girls in foster care became pregnant at least once by age 19 and 71 % became pregnant at least once by age 21. This has serious consequences for teens and their families, as well as financial costs to the child welfare system. However, youth in foster care have been largely overlooked in terms of teen pregnancy prevention.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is working to raise awareness and spark action about the high rates of teen pregnancy among youth in foster care through research, technical assistance, and partnerships with organizations that focus on child welfare. Check back soon for updates about this project!

We all know that Chuck Norris is able to count to infinity (twice!) and that he is so tough that he can slam a revolving door. But did you know he writes an exclusive weekly column at WorldNetDaily.com where they let him talk about anything he wants?

Seriously... you can't tell Chuck Norris what to write. In fact, Chuck Norris doesn't actually write his columns. The words assemble themselves out of fear.

Last week, Chuck took on "sexting" in his column, dispensing advice to parents like Walker, Texas Ranger dispenses roundhouse kicks to the skulls of criminals. An excerpt:

We might live in a technological wonderland, but that doesn't mean it's good to eat from all of its fruits. Most especially, we can never throw up our hands in surrender to marketing and peer (or parental) pressure in order to give our kids everything the Joneses have, especially when those things expose them to others exposing themselves!

Read the rest of the article here or Chuck Norris will find you.

Here are some other little known Chuck Norris Facts:

• Chuck Norris is so tough that when child porn sees him it turns itself in to police rather than take a beating.
• Cell phone towers transmitting "sexting" messages melt in Chuck Norris' presence.
• Chuck Norris is so tough that cell phone 'send' buttons ask his permission before sending messages.
• Chuck Norris is so tough that the guy who invented the cell phone camera has gone into the Witness Protection Program.

(Thank to Marty Kramer)

The teen birth rate increased 1% in 2007, according to a new report from our friends at the National Center for Health Statistics. Close watchers know that this is now the second year in a row that the teen birth rate has increased. The stark reality is this: After 14 years of uninterrupted good news, after the teen birth rate declined an amazing 34% between 1991 and 2005, the teen birth rate has now increased 5% between 2005 and 2007.

Today, we also released a new public opinion survey of adults and teens—With One Voice (lite) 2009. The survey provides some clues on what might help to reverse the recent increases in the teen birth rate. To wit:

• When it comes to teens' decisions about sex, parents are far more influential than they think.
• Adults and teens--by a long shot--view abstinence and contraception as complimentary, not contradictory, strategies.

So there!

If you are looking for additional info, please visit our web portal that has a press release, National Campaign analysis of the increase in both long and short form, a summary of key data, the complete results of the new National Campaign public opinion survey, and other helpful materials.

We really want to hear from you on two important questions:

• Why do you think the teen birth rate is increasing?
• What should be done to reverse the recent unpleasantness?

Back in December, The National Campaign and CosmoGirl.com released the results from a survey on the cultural phenomenon that has come to be described as...gulp...sexting.

Friends, we continue to be surprised by—and dine out on—the continued and overwhelming response the survey has received. The anecdotal reports we have all heard about teens and young adults electronically sending and posting nude images/videos of themselves—anecdotal reports that now have some quantitative data to back them up—have become the "our culture is dying" lament dejour.

Check out this clever campaign on "safe texting" that starts today in Milwaukee.  The bus shelter ads are funded by United Way of Greater Milwaukee, who, as we've noted before, are spearheading efforts to bring down the teen pregnancy and birth rates in their community. 

Teens are in more danger from sexual predators at their part time jobs than they are through the internet. This from the PBS weekly newsmagazine NOW that will air a special on Friday, February 20 (check here for local listings) on the shockingly large number of teens who are harassed on the job.

The documentary--a collaboration of NOW and the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University--features the stories of teens who have been harassed in the workplace. NOW on PBS has a six minute preview video available.

"While sexual harassment is something many American women experience in the workplace, it goes mostly unreported," says NOW correspondent Maria Hinojosa. "We hear stories about protecting our kids from sexual predators on the Internet and teach our daughters and sons to be wary of strangers. There are programs in high schools that deal with bullies, and programs that deal with sexual harassment in school. Yet, there's never been a national conversation about sexual harassment of teen girls on the job, until now."

Read Maria's Huffington Post entry on the show to learn more. The show will also be available in streaming video on the NOW on PBS website beginning February 23.

How about that Super Bowl huh? Definitely one of the five best SBs of all time don't you think? The nation now faces our APOG (Annual Period of Gloom) as the long, empty, sports-less days extend before us as far as the eye can see. (Hockey and non-playoff NBA action don't count and I simply will not abide arguments to the contrary. Sure, NCAA b-ball is great but thin gruel for the long winter months to be sure.) The light at the end of the tunnel is a distant one—the dulcet tones of "play ball" that will ring from major league ballparks in April. Tom Boswell was right; time does begin on Opening Day.

But I digress. Truth is I will do nearly anything to avoid getting back into the nation's most tiresome non-debate that pits abstinence versus contraception. Snooze. But back in I must...

Yet another survey—this one conducted for the National Women's Law Center and the YWCA USA by our friends at Public Strategies, Inc.—underscores that the American public wants teens to be encouraged to delay sexual activity and to be given information about contraception. Not either/or. The NWLC/YWCA survey notes that 76% of Independents and 62% of Republicans believe the government should support sex education programs that include information about abstinence and contraception. Not either/or.

Friend's here's my simple point. There really is precious little disagreement among the American public about abstinence, contraception, and what teens should be taught. Liberals, conservatives, Obamaists, parents of teens, old folks, Welsh cardigan corgis, teens themselves, all agree—in one public opinion poll after another—that teens should be encouraged to delay sex and be provided with information about contraception. Not either/or.

Simple right? What am I missing? I am, as always, waiting to be enlightened.

Ever since we released the report on our "Sex and Tech" survey last month with CosmoGirl.com, my fellow Campaigners and I have been answering questions from hundreds of reporters who want to get to the bottom (so to speak) of the "sexting" craze.

Our survey found that about 20% of teens have posted or sent nude or semi-nude photos of themselves; and about 30% have received such images meant for someone else. About 3/4 of the teens in our survey acknowledged that this kind of thing is risky and could have negative consequences.

But they're doing it anyway. And now the consequences seem to be more serious even than future embarrassment. Today's New York Times notes the latest example of teens across the country who are being charged with dissemination and possession of child pornography, even when they're sending photos of themselves. That makes for a murky legal situation, and a really scary one to find yourself in.

Countless reporters have asked me if we should just make sure teens only have cell phones without cameras. Have you tried to buy one of those? I'm not sure you can anymore. Besides, it's not the phone's fault. Instead, we need to teach teens how to use technology in a smart and safe way, and how to make sure that something done on a whim or a dare doesn't cost them their futures. Parents remain the most powerful force in teens' lives—and while most parents don't feel like they're experts at technology, they are still experts at being parents.

What would you tell your teen? Have you asked your teen if they know anyone who's done this? Tell us you thoughts and find tips for parents and teens on the Sex and Tech page of our Web site. 

Does media influence teen sexual behavior? Can media be used to impact teen behavior in a good way?

Almost everyone has an opinion about the influence of the media on teens' behaviors ranging from violence and drug use to sex. In a report released today, Managing the Media Monster: The Influence of Media (from television to text messages) on Teen Sexual Behavior and Attitudes, we've turned to five experts to uncover the research on this topic and help us better understand how media can be used to promote healthy behaviors (such as abstaining from sex or using contraception every time you have sex).

The introduction, written by Dr. Jane Brown, provides a brief overview of the report and includes the key recommendations for consideration if you are developing a media program. Chapter 1, by Dr. Michael Rich, explores what the research tells us about the link between media and teen sexual behavior. You might remember a study that was released last November about the link between exposure to sexual content and teen pregnancy. Dr. Rich discusses this study and many more in his chapter. What do you think about the link between media and teen sexual behavior?

Chapter 2, by Drs. Tilly Gurman and Carol Underwood, explores effective media interventions from the international community. There have been a lot of fantastic media interventions implemented and evaluated outside of the U.S. and they offer some important lessons learned for U.S. practitioners. Chapter 3, by Dr. Sarah Keller, also focuses on media interventions, but takes a look at those implemented in the U.S. She also discusses the potential application of digital technologies for changing teen behavior, and provides some examples of what researchers have been trying out. Do you have any suggestions for how we might use media to influence teen behavior?

Many people have plenty to say about the media and its influence on teens, especially when it's about teens, sex, and the media. This report and supporting materials—including tips for starting a media campaign and working with the media—can be found on our Web site and provide a clear look at what rigorous research tells us about the negative and the positive when it comes to teens, sex, and the media. So, grab a cup of coffee, take a look, and tell us what you think. Enjoy!

KERA, the NPR TV and Radio station for north Texas, has made a year-long commitment to examing the "complex personal and cultural factors that contribute to the way adolescent girls form and maintain relationships."  The first part of the project is a series of engaging, sobering, and thought-provoking radio biographys of sorts---four teens describe the challenges of their relationships, pregnancies, and raising children.

If nothing else, the KERA series by Sujata Dand makes clear that efforts to prevent too-early pregnancy and childbearing often miss one of the most important topics of all---healthy relationships.  Young people are often told about how to redcue the risk of pregnancy and STIs but rarely are they given guidance on how to successfully navigate the minefield of relationships.

The series is very well done and worth a few minutes of your time. In fact, the series could serve as a terrific tool for those who work directly with teens.  Have them listen and discuss. The Campaign also has some helpful materials for parents on the topic of relationships.  Check 'em out.

This past Friday, I had the privilege of heading up to Philadelphia to accept a Freddie Award for The National Campaign's "Too Young" educational film in the category of Adolescent Health.  For those of you who don't know, the Freddie Awards are also known as "the Oscars for healthcare media" and seek to encourage the development of cutting-edge health-related educational materials.  Surrounded by our fellow winners -- including heavyweights from places like Discovery Health Channel and HBO -- I felt like a small fish in a big pond and it was such an honor for our little film to be recognized with our very heavy, very naked statue of Hermes. For more information about the Freddies and to learn about some of the evening's other winners, check out http://www.TheFreddies.com.

If you haven't seen "Too Young" yet, what are you waiting for?  The entire film is just shy of five minutes long and it's embedded above, so you really have no excuse.  For more information, to order copies of the film, and to download a companion fact sheet and discussion guide, check out the "Too Young" section of our website.

If you've been paying attention to all to the news over the past year, you know that teen pregnancy happens in all kinds of families and all kinds of communities. Despite more than a decade of significant declines in teen pregnancy and birth rates, it is still the case that 3 in 10 girls will get pregnant at least once by age 20. But it is one of the few public health issues that is actually 100% preventable.  It has been our hope from the start that this film would help raise awareness about this important issue and get teens thinking about avoiding pregnancy and parenthood. Given the great response we've received, we are very proud of "Too Young" and the conversations it is generating nationwide.

Read our thank you's after the jump...

Miley Cyrus has a new BF.  He's 20, she's about to turn 16.  I'm a dad of a daughter who adores Miley and her on-screen alter ego of Hanna Montana and I really don't want to be in the position of having to explain another Hollywood unplanned pregnancy.  I know others worry too.

Even though Miley is wearing a purity ring, indicating a vow of chasity, there are other rumors that indicate that she is on the pill.  I hope Miley is on the pill if she continues to date the 20-year-old, because experience proves that kind of relationship--where the older person has so much power and influence--results in sex.

Moreover, research shows that when teen girls have sex at a young age with much older partners, the chances are greater that their first sexual experiences are involuntary or unwanted and that they will become pregnant.

But what really gets my back up is that Miley's dad, Billy Ray, supports the relationship. 

Did that mullet hurt his head?  What do you think?

Flying home on Virgin America from San Francisco this week I took in an episode of MTV's "Sex with Mom and Dad" on the in-flight entertainment system.  While I was prepared to be entertained, I was not expecting to be as engaged as I was by Dr. Drew Pinsky's moderation of the parent-kid talk.

TV critic Brittany Doctor says in her review that, "Sex" is an enlightening show. It's a shock to see how little many teens around the country know about the dangers of unprotected sex, as demonstrated in episode five when Tiara revealed that she didn't know that she could get pregnant or infected even if her boyfriend "pulled out."  Exactly...except I wouldn't limit the commentary to teens--as you'll see for yourself.

The bottom line in all of the wide-ranging episodes is that parent-child communication is so very important.  And the age of the participants doesn't matter.  Talking about and planning for your most important moments makes sense.  "Sex with Mom and Dad" takes a step in the direction of making the conversation easier.

Note from the blogkeeper:  This post by Laura Sessions Stepp is in response to yesterday's post by Bill Albert, the subject of which was a Washington Post op-ed by Amy Schalet.

The key phrase here, Bill, is "later teens." I can't imagine parents are offering bedrooms to 14- or 15-year-olds. But older teens? That's a different matter.

By the end of high school, a sizable majority of American teens are having sex. Is a pal's basement a better place than home? How about the back of a car? Or the Econo Lodge? We Americans spend too much time thinking about how to prevent young people from having sex (with mixed results at best) and not enough time helping them think about how, when the time comes, they can do it safely and in a loving relationship. I think Schalet is correct: Sleepovers at home, smartly handled by parents and teens, could encourage conversations that young people badly need before they go to college. And once they get to college, give them something to remember when they're tempted to sleep in some stranger's bed.

 

Amy Schalet is an assistant professor of socilogy at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.  In an op-ed piece today in The Washington Post entitled; "A Question for Sarah Palin,"  Schalet discusses the importance of talking to teens about sex and contraception and the critically important role that parents can and should play in helping their children make good choices about sex.  She correctly notes that teen pregnancy is not inevitable but notes with concern the recent rise in the teen birth rate.

Right on.  Amen Amy.  I'm with you.

Schalet goes on to suggest that the United States might learn some valuable lessons in preventing teen pregnancy from the Dutch.  Citing her own research, she suggests that a majority of Dutch parents are willing to permit their older teen children who are in committed relationships to spend the night together in their parents' homes, "but only when they see that they have formed a loving relationship, feel ready for sex, and understand how to use contraception responsibily."  Schalet notes, "by accepting teen sexuality within these parameters, Dutch parents can stay involved, monitor relationships, and urge proper contraceptive use."

Huh? Amy, you lost me in the Netherlands.

 

Although the National Campaign is not focused intensely on sex education, I am often asked what I think should be taught and when and by whom and under what circumstances, and usually I find ways to refer people to our website, where our "Ten Tips for Parents" appear, along with much else about effective curricula and more. But I am beginning to think that we need a new list—or perhaps an additional list—of topics to discuss with young people as well as among ourselves.

Here is the way I think about it. This nation has been engulfed for years in a series of arguments that touch on sex, love, and relationships—a partial list includes abortion, abstinence-only curricula versus comprehensive sex education, parental consent, and birth control clinics in schools. There are more, too, but those are the biggies.

But I think that while we have all been arguing about such matters, a number of simple, basic ideas has fallen by the wayside. When I speak about them—see list below—people often write them down or ask me to "go slower" so that they don't miss any. Sometimes they are treated like news, even though I would imagine my grandmother might have laid them out quite easily. So, here is my list of topics we need to discuss with teens, in particular, although many apply to young adults as well.

Aunt Sarah's List

1. Sex has risks, meaning and consequences.  Take it seriously....
2. A couple shouldn't have sex if they can't talk about birth control and what they will do if pregnancy occurs. 
3. Girls: Sex won't make him yours and a baby won't make him stay.
4. Boys: Making babies doesn't make you a man.  Being a devoted partner and father can....
5. Babies need adult parents.
6. Babies don't cement relationships; they stress them.
7. Babies don't give unconditional love; they seek and demand it from the adults around them.
8. Children do best when they are raised by parents who are committed to each other and to years of devoted parenting.
9. Getting pregnant, having babies, and raising children is perhaps the most important thing we do (and it also costs a lot).  Therefore, it needs to be thought about carefully, not stumbled into.  We plan many relatively unimportant things all the time: vacations, outfits, dinner, presents, what movie to see....  Doesn't pregnancy deserve at least the same amount of planning?

Do you have a tenth topic for Sarah's list?  Tell us your thoughts.

If you thought dealing with Jeff Conaway's addiction (not to mention his girlfriend) on "Celebrity Rehab" was a daunting task, wait until you see this. Dr. Drew is going to help teens and parents talk about sex.

"Sex...with Mom and Dad" premieres Monday on MTV. And not a moment too soon.

We hear it constantly from teens and young adults—parents have more influence over their kids' sex lives than anything else. Certainly more influence than parents themselves think they have, and also more influence than media, friends, school, religion or anything else for that matter. Which is good—if you have parents who know how to talk about sex, love, values, and relationships or who at least care enough to make sure the messages their kids get from them about these issues are rooted in self-respect and responsibility. But that's not always as easy as it sounds. After all, it can be hard to talk about this stuff—embarrassing, awkward, confusing. Parents may feel that they need to be experts (not true) or that their own past calls their authority into question (also not true). Kids may feel weird about these conversations (almost always true) and may resist a parent's efforts to start a discussion (you can bank on this one) or their own desire to have their questions answered. All of which can lead to misinformation, bad choices, family turmoil, and more.

So what can you do? Short of enlisting the expert advice of Dr. Drew Pinsky—not just a TV doc but an actual board certified, medical school-teaching, honest-to goodness physician, who incidentally has teenage children of his own—you can actually do quite a bit. We have some handy, dandy tips for parents to get you started. The most important thing is to remember that it's not The Talk - but rather a conversation that lasts a lifetime. Age-appropriate information about feelings and body parts, honest discussions about what's acceptable in your family (which is often very different than what's acceptable in Hollywood or even among peers), and wide-ranging conversations about dreams for the future (and what would stand in the way of those dreams, like say too-early parenthood for example) are important.

Tune in next Monday at 7p ET/PT. Let us know what you think.

It may still feel like summer, but for many schools around the country, class is back in session. For most teens, the start of the new school year brings mixed feelings of excitement and dread. But for many teen mothers, the new school years also represents a whole new set of challenges. We asked our friend Taylor to share his experiences and tell us what's on his mind as he heads back to school.

A recent poll released by the Monmouth University Polling Institute details the views of New Jersey residents on sex and society...in other words, their thoughts on sex ed, the influence of the media, etc.  A lot of the info in the release was unsurprising; what got me poised to blog, however, was one chart that indicated that 82% of "other parents" felt that middle school was the time to begin sex ed.  Here's the chart in all its mathy glory:

Appropriate Level for Sex Education in School
	New Jersey Adults	Parents of Girls age 12-17	Other Parents	Nonparents
High School	93%	94%	93%	93%
Middle School	77%	69%	82%	77%
Elementary School	16%	5%	15%	17%
Never	5%	2%	5%	6%

Source:  Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll.  For more information: Monmouth University Polling Institute, West Long Branch, NJ 07764, www.monmouth.edu/polling

This is fantastic.  The idea that the majority of parents in this community see a place for sex education in schools is a wonderful step in the right direction.  But I have to wonder - how many of that 82% have already broached the subject of sex with their children?  The National Campaign regularly tells parents that the "Talk" isn't a one shot deal...it should be a series of conversations worked into appropriate moments in your child's life.  So while I congratulate the parents of New Jersey for recognizing that kids as young as 5th grade need and want age-appropriate guidance about sex, love, and relationships, I have to wonder - have you been practicing what you preach?

Get some great tips for talking to your kids in our Parents Portal. 

Get the polling data here.