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MESSAGES FOR TEEN GIRLS AND BOYS MESSAGES We here at Perfection Tire are proud to support and build a drug free future for our youth! 208-935-2999 107 East 3rd Street - Kamiah, ID TEEN For Teen Girls & Boys Photo Source: lump.co nancy is preventable. In fact, over the past two decades, teen pregnancy and birth rates in the U.S. have declined by more than onethird. But progress has slowed and we need to reach teens now more than ever. Teen pregnancy is a problem we can solve. BOLLER ELECTRIC “Get Wired” LLC “We are proud to be a light in the path to creating a drug free future for our kids” 176 Harris Ridge Lp. Kooskia, ID 208-926-4911 Proud to be a DRUG FREE workplace and supporter! 208-983-0603 331 West Main St. • Grangeville, ID 208-983-1942 Helping to build a bright and ABUSE FREE future for all of our youth in the great state of IDAHO! 109 North College • Grangeville, ID 18 MESSAGES FOR TEENS: Three out of ten girls in the United States get pregnant before age 20. That’s two thousand girls every day. We have the highest teen pregnancy and birth rates in the fully developed world. 1 in 10 babies in the United States is born to a teen mother. And it’s 100% preventable. Preventing teen pregnancy solves a host of other social problems. It is the most effective way to reduce child poverty and improve the lives of this generation and the next. If more children in this country were born to parents ready and able to care for them, we would see lower levels of academic failure, crime, child abuse and neglect, and healthier, more successful children and families. The teen years must be for education and growing up, not pregnancy and parenthood. Babies need and deserve adult parents, not parents who are children themselves. All grownups— parents, coaches, clergy, teachers, relatives, and even media leaders—must help teens commit to the idea that teen pregnancy is not okay. We need to help young people understand that being a parent is one of the most important things they will do with their lives, and waiting until they’re older will help them be the best parents they can be. Unlike so many other situations that can derail an education, put dreams on hold, change the trajectory of generations of lives, and shake a family to its core, teen preg- | Idaho Spring/Summer 2014 | abusemagazine.org 1. Not everyone is doing it. Some are, some aren’t—and some are lying. In fact, more than half of high school-aged teens are virgins. The younger teens are, the less likely it is that they have had sex. Despite what most teens think, not everyone is in a rush to have sex. When asked whether they would rather lose their virginity as soon as possible or wait and lose their virginity with someone they love, three-quarters of teen boys ages 15-18 said they would prefer to wait for a girl they love. Among teens who have had sex by age 18, two-thirds say that they wish they had waited longer. Photo Source: en.wikipedia.org 2. Thinking “it won’t happen to me” doesn’t count as protection. Have a plan. There are only two ways to prevent pregnancy: either don’t have sex at all, or use protection carefully and correctly every single time. Plan on one or the other, and stick to it. Figure out how you will handle a sexual situation before you’re in the middle of one. Sex happens—so think about what you will do when it does: Will you insist on waiting? How will you say no without hurting Source: http://www.nhclc.org/files/nhclc/Message%20Memo%20-%20Teens%20FINAL.pdf