It is essential for parents to talk to their youth about sexuality.  Research shows that parent-child communication reduces the risk of teen pregnancy and infection of HIV or other sexually transmitted infections.  Other benefits or parent-child communication are:

Parents, want to talk to your child but don’t know where to start?  Here are some suggested resources:
Advocates for Youth Parent Center
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/parents/index.htm

The National Campaign advises parents against having their teens date someone 3 years or more older than the teen.    Here is a link to a booklet they have produced for parents that discusses this issue:
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/pdf/ParentPwr.pdf
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/parents/default.aspx

National PTA Healthy Lifestyles Program
http://www.pta.org/healthy_lifestyles.asp

Here is a 1999 Guttmacher article on age differences between sexual partners:  http://www.agi-ny.org/pubs/journals/3116099.html

Research also shows that students who are connected to school and family are less likely to engage in risky behaviors.  Some suggestions:

• Improve your relationship with your child
• Know your child’s friends and their families
• Know where your child is
• Encourage your child to become involved in school activities

Other resources for parents

Kentucky PTA http://www.kypta.org/
National PTA http://www.pta.org/
Annie E. Casey Foundation http://www.aecf.org/

Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs

PO Box 4028
Frankfort,  KY  40604
Toll-free phone number: (866) 375-2727
Phone number: (502) 226-2704
Fax: (502) 226-2725
E-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Web site address: http://kyasap.brinkster.net/

At least 4 in 10 pregnancies in every state were unwanted or mistimed, according to the first-ever state-level analysis of unintended pregnancies.

Sexual risk behavior among U.S. adolescents is a major public health concern. Nearly 800,000 young women aged 15–19 years become pregnant in the United States each year, most of them unintentionally...

...The goal [of this paper]...is to develop a working knowledge base about the use of new media (such as the Internet, social networking sites, cell phones, online video games, and MP3 players) among adolescents and the potential impact on their sexual activity. The literature review presented in this paper has the specific goals of (1) fostering an understanding of the types of new media available to adolescents, outlining both the platforms that adolescents use to access media and the media itself, and (2) illuminating the potential relations between new media and adolescent sexual activity. The intended audiences are policymakers, public health professionals, researchers studying adolescent sexual health and/or media use, and program developers. Read full report

A quick 4 minute video on teen pregnancy created by students.For their final group project, three students--Emily Barnhill, Rachel Cunningham & Tori Ziegler--created the following video arguing against teen pregnancy.  This short 4 minute video includes statistics and interviews with teen parents.  Watch the video

The Health Communicator's Social Media Toolkit

Take advantage of CDC social media tools to promote your teen pregnancy prevention efforts!  Visit the CDC website here for FREE tools, ideas and messages to help you further your endeavor to reduce teen pregnancy.

Practical tips and advice on organizing to create change based on the experiences of youth activists from around the nation.

The Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP) and Advocates for Youth believe that young people have a right to be involved in creating the policies and porgrams that affect their health and their future.  Advocates and CHAMP also bleieve in youth's ability to change the world, beginning right in your own neighborhood.  Finally, CHAMP and Advocates believe that youth have the right to honest and complete sex education, HIV prevention education, and comprehensive, confidential reproductive and sexual health services, including condoms.

You and your peers are key players in the fight for these rights.  This Guide has been written to provided you--the high school activist and organizer--with tools to create change in your school, your community, and your world.  You know that, too often, youth are pushed aside and ignored while others who have a huge impact on young people make decisions.  You can use this Guide to ensure your voice and your peers' voices are heard!

View the Guide here.

Professionals need accurate information to educate our youth about risky behaviors.  For information on core competencies for adolescent sexual and reproductive health, you may download a free copy of a document developed by the California Adolescent Sexual Health Work Group.  Go to http://californiateenhealth.org to download your free copy.

To access Program of Studies and Core Content for Assessment, Kentucky’s curriculum standards, visit the Kentucky Department of Education’s website at www.education.ky.gov.  To go directly to the program of studies and core content, click on the links below.

Program of Studies:
http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional...

Core Content:
http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Instructional+Resources/Curriculum...

There are also numerous web sites that can provide valuable information to professionals.  Here are some suggestions:

Advocates for Youth
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/professionals.htm

National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/

Center for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/

Guttmacher Institute
http://www.guttmacher.org/

SIECUS
http://www.siecus.org/

HIV Prevention Program at Kentucky Department of Education
http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/Administrative+...