Teen Pregnancy - It's Time to Face the Music

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy invites teens to take a short, scenario-based quiz on their teen website. The quiz challenges teens to think about what they would do when sexual situations arise.

This day also is  a great opportunity to think about solutions to not only teen pregnancy, but also to how we can reduce the risks of teens getting STD's. This can be a great opportunity to consider how we talk to our youth about sex and what we tell them about protection themselves and each other.

As I've mentioned in previous posts about this subject, I believe that it takes much more than someone simply telling young people to "just say no."  That's not to say that abstinence should be removed from the dialogue completely, but that perhaps giving young people  a comprehensive view of how to prevent pregnancy and STD's will allow for them to make more informed decisions.

And it goes without saying that it takes more than a day prevent teen pregnancy. It has to become an on-going part of how we engage youth in a real discussion about these issues.

A few links:

• Planned Parenthood of Northern New England give s a few tips for talking with children about sexuality
• Feminist Law Professors get the word out about the day and Stayteen.org
• Marian Wright Edelman at Huffington Post
• Short post from the National Campaign Blog
• From MSNBC: Bristol Palin selected as spokesperson for the National Day
• And finally...Tweets is Watchin, as always.

Drop it like it's hot: If you have blogged about the National Day or would like to talk about ways to talk to kids and teens about sexuality, then drop your links in the comments section!