Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Provides Valuable Tools
February 2, 2020 by Patty Leach
Facts help us make more informed decisions, knowledge helps us decipher information, and values can help us put it all together when it involves making good decisions about our own actions.
Family HealthCare Clinic has been providing these tools since 2000 through its Teen Pregnancy Prevention curriculum. The program is an abstinence-focused approach to health education and it really is more a values-based curriculum teaching teens how to make good decisions around their own sexuality.
The success of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program lies in teaching teens skills regarding how to value themselves and make good decisions. To begin with, the program focuses on how to combat peer pressure, which in today’s world of social media and texting, can be difficult to navigate.
Self-esteem plays a major factor in the curriculum. Those who feel good about themselves are more likely to make good decisions about their own lives. In our classes, we talk about trading negative talk about yourself into positive narrative. So, instead of saying, “I’m so stupid” when making a simple mistake or “I’m so ugly” because of a temporary facial blemish, we talk about treating yourself and your sexuality as something that is valuable. Use language that is positive, “I’m smart” and “I’m valuable.” An anecdotal example might be about going into a collectibles shop, where there is a signed baseball that is very valuable displayed under a glass case with a sign that says, “Look, Don’t Touch!” We use that same phrase to refer to one’s own self, “Look, Don’t Touch!” We talk about how teens need to understand that they are awesome and worth protecting, just like that valuable baseball under the glass case.
Self-control is obviously an important skill in abstinence. One way to emphasize self-control is to talk about how to use self-control in the beginning by not putting yourself in situations that are tempting. We talk about avoiding situations where you might be alone with someone, instead sticking with groups of friends or functions and activities with lots of people. Then the self-control in the moment isn’t necessary, because you have already controlled the situation by avoiding the moment where control is needed to make a decision.
Good decisions happen when you have the facts. The Teen Pregnancy Prevention program talks about not making a decision when emotions are high because that is when rational thinking is low. So, if you are in a situation where you are being tempted, stop and say, “No, I need time to make a decision.” Then step away from the situation and allow yourself time to gather facts.
Be selfish, always asking yourself, “How will this decision affect me?” Not only the effect now, but also five minutes from now, nine months from now if the decision results in pregnancy, or even ten years from now if the decision results in a sexually transmitted disease.
Use your boundaries is a way to let teens know that they can use those “body alarms” as signals to say no. “Body alarms” might be when feelings of nervousness, feeling funny, or thinking that something just doesn’t feel right. Use those signals by bringing those nerves up from your tummy to your mouth to say no. Saying exactly what you mean and then acting on those words is how you can make those body alarms work for you.
Broken records tend to repeat. In class, we talk about instead of having to argue with someone about defending your decision to not have sex, you can simply say, “My decision, for my life, is NO.” You don’t have to tell someone about why you don’t agree with their reasoning. No matter what someone might be saying to try to convince you to have sex, you simply have to say each time, “My decision is no.”
Teen Pregnancy Prevention teaches skills that leave a lasting impact. The series of classes last nine to twelve weeks, two times per week. The classes are taught to 6th, 7th and 8th graders in the Dewey and Nowata school systems. Classes can also be taught in smaller settings, such as church groups. If you are interested in learning more about the Teen Pregnancy Prevention classes, please call Family HealthCare Clinic at 918-336-4822.
Family HealthCare Clinic has been providing these tools since 2000 through its Teen Pregnancy Prevention curriculum. The program is an abstinence-focused approach to health education and it really is more a values-based curriculum teaching teens how to make good decisions around their own sexuality.
The success of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program lies in teaching teens skills regarding how to value themselves and make good decisions. To begin with, the program focuses on how to combat peer pressure, which in today’s world of social media and texting, can be difficult to navigate.
Self-esteem plays a major factor in the curriculum. Those who feel good about themselves are more likely to make good decisions about their own lives. In our classes, we talk about trading negative talk about yourself into positive narrative. So, instead of saying, “I’m so stupid” when making a simple mistake or “I’m so ugly” because of a temporary facial blemish, we talk about treating yourself and your sexuality as something that is valuable. Use language that is positive, “I’m smart” and “I’m valuable.” An anecdotal example might be about going into a collectibles shop, where there is a signed baseball that is very valuable displayed under a glass case with a sign that says, “Look, Don’t Touch!” We use that same phrase to refer to one’s own self, “Look, Don’t Touch!” We talk about how teens need to understand that they are awesome and worth protecting, just like that valuable baseball under the glass case.
Self-control is obviously an important skill in abstinence. One way to emphasize self-control is to talk about how to use self-control in the beginning by not putting yourself in situations that are tempting. We talk about avoiding situations where you might be alone with someone, instead sticking with groups of friends or functions and activities with lots of people. Then the self-control in the moment isn’t necessary, because you have already controlled the situation by avoiding the moment where control is needed to make a decision.
Good decisions happen when you have the facts. The Teen Pregnancy Prevention program talks about not making a decision when emotions are high because that is when rational thinking is low. So, if you are in a situation where you are being tempted, stop and say, “No, I need time to make a decision.” Then step away from the situation and allow yourself time to gather facts.
Be selfish, always asking yourself, “How will this decision affect me?” Not only the effect now, but also five minutes from now, nine months from now if the decision results in pregnancy, or even ten years from now if the decision results in a sexually transmitted disease.
Use your boundaries is a way to let teens know that they can use those “body alarms” as signals to say no. “Body alarms” might be when feelings of nervousness, feeling funny, or thinking that something just doesn’t feel right. Use those signals by bringing those nerves up from your tummy to your mouth to say no. Saying exactly what you mean and then acting on those words is how you can make those body alarms work for you.
Broken records tend to repeat. In class, we talk about instead of having to argue with someone about defending your decision to not have sex, you can simply say, “My decision, for my life, is NO.” You don’t have to tell someone about why you don’t agree with their reasoning. No matter what someone might be saying to try to convince you to have sex, you simply have to say each time, “My decision is no.”
Teen Pregnancy Prevention teaches skills that leave a lasting impact. The series of classes last nine to twelve weeks, two times per week. The classes are taught to 6th, 7th and 8th graders in the Dewey and Nowata school systems. Classes can also be taught in smaller settings, such as church groups. If you are interested in learning more about the Teen Pregnancy Prevention classes, please call Family HealthCare Clinic at 918-336-4822.
