Don't Miss The Secret Life of the American Teenager
New Episode August 12th at 8pm/7pm Central on ABC Family

   

Now that the word’s out about Amy’s pregnancy, she is forced to make some big decisions about her living situation. Meanwhile, Ricky wrestles with taking responsibility for his role in Amy’s pregnancy and has a confrontation with Amy’s dad.

Welcome to “The Secret Life of the American Teenager."

Check out The Secret Life of the American Teenager Tuesday nights at 8pm/7pm Central on ABC Family .  And definitely stay through til the end of the show so you can see the PSA for StayTeen.org!

Stay Talking! Download a discussion guide for this week's episode and start talking to your friends and parents about the important issues raised by the show. Download last's week discussion guide here.

Did You Know? 1 in 3 girls in the U.S. get pregnant at least once by age 20. Make sure you're not the one. Either don't have sex at all, or use protection every single time. Find out more in our Get Informed section.


National Day Media Partners Take a Stand Against Teen Pregnancy

In honor of the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, some of our favorite our favorite television networks, shows, and websites are taking a stand against teen pregnancy all month long. Here's just a couple of examples of what they're up to...

 

  • On ABC Daytime's "One Life to Live," teen character Starr Manning (Kristen Alderson) is dealing with the consequences of teen pregnancy. Through the story line and through Kristen Alderson's weekly blog, the show's fans are learning the facts and using the show to start family conversations about sex, love, relationships, and preventing teen pregnancy. Find out more and read Kristen's blog at http://blogs.abc.com/kristen.
  • The N, Nickelodeon's network for teens, will run teen pregnancy-related episodes of favorite shows including "Degrassi: The Next Generation," "The Hills," "Dawson's Creek," and others throughout the day on May 7, and will run Stay Teen PSAs all day. For more about The N, visit http://www.the-n.com.
  • NBC's "The Baby Borrowers" is teaming up with members of our Youth Leadership Team to screen the new reality series and to start a dialogue about the reality of teen pregnancy and the importance of prevention. Check out the show when it premieres on June 25 at 8-9:00 p.m. ET. Find out more at http://www.nbc.com.
  • Fox Broadcasting Co. will air Stay Teen PSAs throughout May during popular prime-time shows including "Mad TV," "American Dad" and others. Tune in and find out more about Fox prime time programs at http://www.fox.com.
  • Think.MTV.com, CWTV.com, GameSpot.com Seventeen.com, and YourProm.com are among the top web sites for teens that are featuring teen pregnancy prevention messages, promoting the quiz prominently throughout their sites, and encouraging users to grab the widget and get involved. Please visit their sites to find out more.
 

Do you want to take a stand against teen pregnancy? Visit our National Day page to learn more about what you can do to raise awareness in your community. And don't forget to take the National Day to Prevent Teen Preganncy Quiz and add it to your Facebook and MySpace pages.



Starr Manning is 16 and Pregnant

Starr Manning, a 16-year-old resident of Llanview, PA, had sex with her boyfriend Cole Thornhart for the first time last month and recently found out she’s pregnant.  She’s scared and confused and isn’t sure what to do next.  Her parents don’t know about the pregnancy but her dad is mad enough already after finding his daughter in bed with her boyfriend.  Starr’s best friend, Langston, is trying to help, but she too is shaken up and afraid about what her friend is going through.  No one knows for sure what will happen next.

So what makes Starr different from the hundred of thousands of other teen girls who get pregnant every year?  For starters, Starr is a fictional character – she’s really actress Kristen Alderson – herself a 16-year-old – and a member of ABC’s “One Life to Live” family.  She’s also blogging about her experience in this role – the good and the bad – at www.onelifetolive.com.  And on April 11 she addresses the entire OLTL audience with some wise words about teen pregnancy prevention in a commercial during the broadcast.

 

 

Want to find out what else Kristen has to say? She is posting a new blog entry each Friday after the East Coast broadcast of the OLTL. Check out her latest blog entry and tell her what you think of the show.

Resources for Parents

The following resources are available from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. For more information, visit our Parents Portal.

Parent Power
Whether they believe it or not, parents have a very important influence on whether their teenagers become pregnant or cause a pregnancy. Parent Power compiles much of what is known about parental influences and offers parents practical things they can do to help their children delay sexual activity and avoid teen pregnancy.

Ten Tips for Parents
Common sense lessons designed to help parents reduce the risk of kids becoming pregnant during their teen years by delaying becoming sexually active, as well as encouraging the careful and correct use of contraception.

Talking Back: What Teens Want Adults to Know About Teen Pregnancy
Ever wondered what your teen is wishing you'd say to them? Or if they actually want to have "The Talk" but wouldn't dream of asking you? Talking Back features advice from real teens and makes clear that young people really do want to hear from their parents about sex, love, relationships, and values, even if they don’t always act like it.