Nowadays, they do more than talk on that phone...

As a mom of a two and a half year old, I have come to appreciate my smart phone - sometimes it's my only hope if I want to have a productive trip to the grocery store. Lucas loves the apps that are helping him learn his shapes, alphabet, colors, numbers and more. He is even better than I am at games like Angry Birds and Temple Run - it’s amazing how quickly he has picked up on  technology and the way he can navigate through my phone. But, his favorite app is YouTube because he can look up silly videos about trains or monster trucks and watch some of his favorite shows like Pokoyo and Spiderman.

However, as we all know, there is a lot of material on YouTube that you don’t want your toddler viewing. So, as a parent, I strictly monitor what Lucas is watching and playing with on my phone. Granted, he is two, but I think it is becoming increasingly important for parents of children of all ages to know what their kids are up to on their cell phones.


A new study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy says that 20% of teens are now sexting – the practice of sending sexually explicit text messages to others. Because of my job this didn’t surprise me too much, but as a mother I hope this news will serve as a wakeup call to parents. Yes, I know teens need their privacy, and when Lucas gets to that stage in his life where he wants to go to his room and shut the door, I will come to grips with it. But, what teens also need is a parent – a parent who cares enough about their child to take a look at his/her text messages; a parent who cares enough to sign up for Facebook so they can monitor what is happening on their son/daughter’s page. A parent who cares enough to have difficult conversations.

No, as parents we aren’t always going to be our kids’ best friend. At times, they may really resent us; but I think that is what being a parent is all about. I remember times growing up when I thought, “my parents just don’t understand” or “this is so unfair”, but looking back, I now know it was called love. My parents cared enough about me and my future to set boundaries, to check in on those boundaries, and to talk to me about my friends and boyfriend (who is now my husband J).  
Teens are going to make mistakes along the way; heck, adults are going to make plenty of mistakes, but if I can educate my child on our family values, on the ways that improper use of cell phones and social media can hinder him from reaching his goals; I am going to do it – even if he doesn’t want to hear it.

By Cayci Banks, Director of Communications for the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

(Editor’s “Cheeky” Note: Someone in the Royal Family should care enough too! Latest scandal with Royal Family and Prince Harry is enough to show how dangerous data plans and camera phones can be! Don’t be like the Royals…keep up with your kids and teach them responsibility with their online presence!)

More than a number...

 

 A couple starts going to therapy to work on their troubled relationship. The therapist asks the couple separately, "how often do you have sex?" The wife responds to the question "ugh, all the time...3 to 4 times a week" and the husband separately responds "hardly ever, only 3 to 4 times a week."

The story above is a great example of how data can be the same in value but completely different in context.  It is important to understand what numbers mean and not just understand the value of the data.  For instance, the newly released summary of the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)[1] shows the percentage of students engaging in various risk behaviors including “never wore a bicycle helmet” and “in a physical fight on school property one or more times.” At first glance, the national findings may seem “normal” but when compared to the state of South Carolina, the findings paint a different picture.[2] 

·       *Nationally, 47% of high school students have ever had sexual intercourse.  That means that almost 5 out of 10 high school students have ever had sex.  This alone seems like a big number.  However, when compared to the percentage in South Carolina, this number doesn’t seem as large because 57% of high school students in the state have ever had sexual intercourse.  That means that in South Carolina, almost 6 out of 10 high school students have ever had sex.

·       Nationally, 15% of high school students have had sexual intercourse with four or more persons.  This is a certainly a cause for concern, however the findings in South Carolina are even more disturbing.  In South Carolina, 21% of high school students have had sexual intercourse with four or more persons. 

·         Nationally, 34% of high school students had sex three months prior to the YRBS survey.  This percentage doesn’t seem as bad when compared to South Carolina, where 42% of high schools students in the state had sex three months prior to the survey.

All of the above comparisons are examples of how data can be interpreted when we don’t take in account the context of the data.  It is important to also define “good” and “bad” so that when you first look at a number like “3 to 4” you can better understand whether that is “good” or “bad.”  When looking at the findings from the YRBS, one way to see how South Carolina students are doing in terms of their sexual behaviors is to compare the state to the nation or to other southern states.  Understanding the context helps someone better identify whether a number is “good”, “average” or “below average.”  The “average” can change from year to year or from state to state depending on the context of the data. 

I leave you with this thought: my husband is an avid outdoorsman and has been trying for years to get me to also love the outdoors.  I recently went fishing and caught a 1lb catfish that fought me like a 90 pound golden retriever.  I was beyond thrilled when I eventually pulled up the fish and thought that I deserved an Olympic medal.  My husband, who was excited that I was excited, was less impressed with my small catch.  He has caught fish over 60 pounds so to him a 1lb fish was considered bait fish.  So as you interpret data as “good”, “bad” or “average”, be sure that you understand the difference between the “bait fish” and the “big one.” 

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[1] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: United States, 2011. MMWR 2012;61(No. SS-4):1-162.

[2] Note – the findings from the YRBS have been rounded.

A Perfect Fit: Teen Pregnancy Prevention and Public Health

Usually when I tell people that I work in the field of public health, they naturally assume that I focus on physical fitness, diet and nutrition (these are obviously not the people that know of my love for Little Debbie Swiss Rolls).  However, people normally do not assume that my focus is in teen pregnancy prevention.  Why is it that people do not connect the dots between public health and unintended teen pregnancy?  Teen pregnancy is associated with multiple social issues impacting the public health of a community, family and individual.  Teen pregnancy is linked to foster care, early birth weight, premature birth, receiving welfare, and lowered educational achievement, just to name a few.  Here are the facts:

• Young teen mothers (17 and younger) are 2.2 times more likely to have a child placed in foster care than mothers who delay childbearing until age 20 or 21.
• Teen mothers ages 18-19 are about one-third more likely to have a child placed in foster care than mothers who had their first child at age 20 or 21. 
•  Infants of teen mothers are at increased risk of being born prematurely.
•  Almost half of all teen mothers began receiving welfare within five years of the birth of their first child.
•  Parenthood is the leading cause of school dropout among teen girls. 
•  Children of teen mothers are 50 percent more likely to repeat a grade, less likely to complete high school and have lower performance on standardized tests. 
•  Less than half of mothers age 17 and younger ever graduate from high school.

 Additionally, teen pregnancy impacts the physical, emotional, psychological and financial health of the teen mother, teen father, involved families and community.  April is Public Health month, followed by Teen Pregnancy Prevention month in May.  So this spring as you are watching young people enjoy some of the pivotal “firsts” in their lifetime such as going to prom or walking across the stage to accept their diploma, consider that in 2010 there were 6,847 teens (15-19 years old) who gave birth in South Carolina, putting them at an increased risk for drop out and the other negative societal issues as listed above.

So why should we consider teen pregnancy as a critical part of addressing public health?  Because the impact on the community, family and individual IS public health.

By Sarah Kershner, It's Your Game Project Coordinator at the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Sarah can be reached at skershner@teenpregnancysc.org. This blog was also featured in the National Public Health week blog.

Marathon Training and Teen Pregnancy Prevention are more Similar than You Might Think

I am not a natural runner.  Some people run and look graceful, powerful, effortless. Not me.  I look like I am running mile 10 when I am on mile 2. I look like I am fighting for every step.  But, nonetheless, running has become a really important part of my life. Along with two friends, I get up at 5:00 in the morning 3-4 times a week to run, and I completed my first half marathon last year.  I was supposed to run my second half-marathon this weekend, but instead found myself frustrated on the sidelines with an injury.

This unwelcome break gave me a chance to reflect on what makes running so special to me. Running is simple and hard.  It is continuing to put one foot in front of the other, even when all you want to do is quit. It is taking setbacks, like an injury, in stride, and it's knowing that you’ll get better if you put in the work.  Occasionally, there is a big accomplishment along the way that makes all the work pay off.

 It is not too much of a stretch to think about lowering the rates of teen pregnancy as a marathon.  One of the central tenets of the SC Campaign is that we are committed to prevention now and in the long term.  Teen pregnancy prevention is not simple  -- it is hard, and the challenges facing South Carolina are daunting.  We have the 12^th highest teen birth rate in the country.  We are disproportionately and negatively affected by child poverty, health disparities, and other indicators of child wellbeing.

 However, through steadfast commitment to young people, the SC Campaign continues to invest in strategies that work such as effective, evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs;  accessible contraception for teens who are sexually active; and helping parents have conversations about sex, love, and healthy relationships. We are able to maintain this commitment because we have a vision of young people who have the chance to go to college, who are empowered to make decisions about their health, and  who can wait until they are ready to start a family.  While we have some significant challenges, we also have some major accomplishments.  Teen birth rates have never been lower in the state or in the nation. These decreases represent real people: young people who have a chance to finish high school, go to college, start a job or otherwise continue to build their vision of the future without the responsibility of pregnancy and parenthood until they are ready.  So, just as I will keep getting up far too early to go for a run, we will all keep working to help young people in our state have the chance to build the future they want. 

- Shannon Flynn is the Research and Evaluation Director at the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Contact Shannon at sflynn@teenpregnancysc.org

Leap Day Reflections

Remember that day when you were so busy you fell asleep in your work clothes? You woke up and said “If only I had an extra day to get [insert task] done.” Ok, those may have not been your exact words. Maybe you asked for a personal assistant, housekeeper or an extra set of arms. Good news! You can abandon your design for the housekeeping robot. Leap day is here! It’s that gift we get every four years: an extra day! Think of all the things you can do with an extra day!

What will I do with this extra day? I’d like to tell you I have a hot air balloon ride with a seaside picnic planned, but I don’t. I’ll start my leap day with my usual Wednesday morning yoga class followed by a rewarding day working with some of the smartest people I know. My day will wrap with dinner beside my significant other with our dogs at our feet. Although this sounds strikingly similar to other Wednesdays in my life, I will do something that I often forget to do: pause. I will stop and take a moment to reflect on the last four years. I’ll spend time reflecting and remember to send a thank you skyward for all that I have been blessed with these past four years.

I know I shouldn’t state the obvious, but: a lot can happen in four years. My life has certainly changed since 2008. Take a moment to reflect on your last four years. What has happened to you since 2008? I hope that you were able to check a few items off your list of goals. Can you think of any event(s) that forced you to put one of those goals on hold or something that changed your path? Now take a moment to think about another set of four years: high school. How do you remember your high school days? When I think about high school, I remember feeling unsure of myself and being concerned about what my peers thought about me. I also remember being carefree and staying up so late I saw the sunrise. Now think about what a pregnancy in your teen years would have done to your path. Would you be where you are today?

Every day in South Carolina, nineteen teenagers give birth1. For those nineteen teenagers, their lives have changed in the most significant way possible. They’ve been thrown into the adult world whether they were ready or not. For those teens who had not yet graduate high school, their four year path to a diploma has been compromised. Parenthood is the leading cause for teenage girls to drop out of high school2. In South Carolina, nearly one in five (19%) 8th graders will not make it to the 12th grade in four years3. As a native, I take pride in my state. The fact that almost a quarter of teens in my home state are not able to graduate from high school in four years makes me uneasy, but further empowers the work that I do.

It is my hope that all teenagers are given the opportunity to achieve all of their goals. As adults who have been in their shoes, it is our responsibility to educate them and be good role models. Show teens how bright their future is and how important it is that they succeed. On the next leap day in 2016, it is my wish that the teens of today will pause and reflect on their accomplishments. I want those teens, who may no longer be teens, to smile that same proud smile you have when you look back on your last four years. Not only do I want for them to see a clear path to their future, but my wish is that they will look over their shoulder to see the path they have cleared and the obstacles they have overcome to get where they choose to be.

Take the gift of this leap day and reflect on your last four years. Celebrate your accomplishments. Make plans for your future. Remember to take a moment to reflect. Continue your hard work and dedication to our future generations and continue to give yourself time to pause.

- Jordan Slice is a Research and Evaluation Assistant at the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Contact Jordan at jslice@teenpregnancysc.org.

References
1South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Teen Pregnancy in South Carolina. Retrieved February 2012 from http://www.teenpregnancysc.org/uploads/2012%20Teen%20Pregnancy%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf.
2National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Why It Matters: Teen Pregnancy and Education. Retrieved February 2012 from http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/why-it-matters/pdf/education.pdf.
3Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count Data Center. Profile for South Carolina. Retrieved February 2012 from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/bystate/stateprofile.aspx?state=SC&loc=42.

Let's Talk About Candy...and Love, Sex and Relationships!

As I sit here at my desk on October 31st I’m reminded of a few things. First, Syracuse basketball season is right around the corner! In fact, it may be that fact that prompted me to rifle through my closet and don this get up for work today.

But, on to more important reminders… those about the safety of our children tonight, on this night of ghouls and goblins and tainted Halloween candy. To be clear I want you to advocate for the safety of your child tonight – stay only in well lit areas, get back in the house before dark, don’t wear dark costumes and walk in traffic, and for heaven’s sake don’t take candy from strangers! My friends who are parents will undoubtedly be having these and other conversations tonight. I can assure you that I will be if I’m ever so fortunate as to be a parent someday.

Yes, yes emergency rooms will be abuzz scanning packs of skittles and mini-snickers for needles, broken glass and other dangers. But, did you know that over the past 50 years or so there has been exactly one (ONE) reported case of candy tampering on Halloween night – and that was actually a premeditated act of a trick-or-treater's father. Here’s a 2009 story from time.com with some more information to the same effect in case you don’t believe me.

So maybe tonight (and every night) we should focus on the real dangers facing our young people… maybe it’s time to recognize that the chance they have sex as a middle school student (almost 1-in-5) or the chance that they have sex before they graduate from high school (about 7-in-10) or the chance that they get pregnant before turning 20 (nearly 4-in-10) ALL FAR EXCEED THE CHANCE (about 1-in-1,000,000,000,000) THAT THEY ARE POISONED BY CANDY on Halloween night!

Love, sex, and relationships… now there are some important topics we need to be conversing about with our children, not running from like we’re being chased by a Halloween ghost!

By Forrest L. Alton, CEO, SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy

There is a Lot to Talk About this Season

The weather is getting crisp, flu shots are being pedaled and pumpkin spice lattes are back in our famously hot state! Dig a little deeper, past the casual conversation about the weather and you'll see that there's quite a bit to talk about in South Carolina. With poverty data spilling onto the market, the sticky numbers aren’t exclusive to the weather in South Carolina anymore. Let's not only start the conversation about our less-than-impressive ratings, but let's make a plan to move forward and bring improvement to our state. After all, if we don’t help our state as a whole, what does that say about us as individuals?

Unemployment rates are a scary thing to discuss, but when South Carolina inched closer to having the highest level of unemployment rates in the nation, I think we all held our breath. As a student graduating college at the tail end of the Great Recession, I experienced a very selfish fear of not being able to find steady employment. I knew the impact of South Carolina's soaring unemployment numbers on myself, but I hadn't thought about the impact on our state's children and their future. Now that I’m working in Research and Evaluation, the picture is clear. Our state’s children, who hold our state’s future, are greatly impacted by these numbers. The year I graduated (2010), we came in second in the nation with the highest percentage (6.6%) of children with all resident parents unemployed.

As unemployment rates soared, the snowball of homelessness, food insecurity, and foreclosure gained momentum. In 2009, nearly one in four (24%) children in South Carolina were living in a household with an income below the Federal Poverty level--that's $22,050 for a family of four. Without a doubt, many of these children are also part of the one in four children that will go to bed hungry tonight. Close to half (43%) of US households report they are struggling to afford stable housing. During the 2009-2010 school year, 10,820 South Carolina students experienced homelessness first-hand; 14.5% of those students did not have a sheltered nighttime residence. Not only are the parents and guardians of children in South Carolina faced with a very discouraging job market where the unemployment rate nearly doubled during the Recession, they must also worry about the impact of these factors on their dependents. It's time that we take action to help ourselves and our state.

With Thanksgiving approaching, I encourage everyone to take time to reflect on people and things that you are grateful to have in your life. I also encourage you to get involved and give back to your community. As the holidays approach, we'll certainly receive more than we need of something. Take that something to a neighbor or pack a bag of non-perishables for Harvest Hope Food Bank. Hug your family members and tell them how much they mean to you while you can. Talk to your children (or the children in your family) not only about how much you love them, but about how important it is for them to succeed. Talk about values and create an open line of communication. A caring adult can create revolutionary change in a young person. 

- Jordan Slice is a Research and Evaluation Assistant at the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Contact Jordan at jslice@teenpregnancysc.org.

Remembering What is Important

We have just passed a date that we wish that we never had to remember. September 11 really should be a date in which we are looking forward to a birthday, a football weekend, the first hint of fall. Instead, for everyone who has memories of 2001 we know where we were. Like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the assassination of John Kennedy, we remember where we were when we learned of the tragic attacks on the World Trade Towers, the Pentagon, the crash in Pennsylvania

All across our country this month there have been remembrances of all those who died, but even more, all those who have died in the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On Sept. 11, our sanctuary walls were filled with the names of so many who have been lost—nearly 10,000 names.
It is important and necessary that we remember that date. But if we only remember, we have lost an important opportunity to ask ourselves, and our country what is really important. How much are we willing to change our lives, our habits in order to feel safe? How many of our liberties and freedoms are we willing to forfeit in order to thwart another attack? What is important about being America?
We need those times when we have those soul-searching conversations with ourselves, with our country. What is really important? 

In recent weeks we have been hit with so many numbers. We have learned that over 15% of all Americans are living in poverty, 1 in 6 children. That means that a family of four has an income of less than $22,350. In South Carolina, according to the 2011 Kids Count Data Book, over 260,000 children, one of every four, are poor. We now rank 45th in the nation for child well being.

The connection between poverty, teen pregnancy, low educational attainment, prison population is well known. We see those numbers all the time. I wonder what it would be like if we saw all their names listed on a church wall—all those lives effected by poverty, pregnancy, dropout, incarceration. Is there a wall big enough?
In the face of such mind numbing numbers are we willing to step back and ask ourselves, our state, what is really important? What are we willing to do to make sure another generation doesn’t fall victim. Following 9/11, we were willing to take off our shoes when we fly, to give up our big toothpaste, to fund two wars, to give away rights in order to be safe.

What are we willing to do to safeguard our children?

Are we willing to walk across the room and cut off TV programs that are inappropriate? Are we willing to fund proven effective programs that help our children make good decisions about sexuality? Are we willing to have conversations that might be uncomfortable, but so very necessary?
What is really important?

It is a question we need to ask—not only this year, but every year. Our children depend on it.

- Don Flowers, Former Board Chair and Pastor of Providence Baptist Church. Contact Don at don@providencecharleston.org.

Enough of the "We Can't do this in South Carolina" Talk

I’ll be honest, it’s one of my pet peeves – this talk about what we can and can’t do simply because of the limits of geography.  I moved to South Carolina fifteen years ago which comes close to making me a “local”, but I fully understand that even another fifteen years won’t make me a “native.”  Nonetheless, I have dedicated a considerable amount of that time doing things that (in my opinion) are making the state better.  I care about South Carolina, care about its citizens and have an especially large place in my heart for its young people and others who are presumably without a voice in decision making.

One of my many professional goals is to ensure that all young people in South Carolina are receiving research proven, age-appropriate sexuality education in school.  It’s a seemingly never-ending battle met with many iterations of “we can’t do that here!”  To be fair, some communities and school districts are well on their way to this level of instruction and are doing the best they can with what they have; however, saying there is widespread implementation of effective sexuality education in South Carolina would be a stretch.

Given this interest, I pay attention when I see that other states or locales have instituted sexuality education policies like this story that broke out of New York City this week.  Let the chorus rain… “yeah but, that’s New York City”… and, of course the “but we can’t do that here.”  Well, here’s the dirty little secret hidden in the article: “a survey… in 2009 found that 81 percent of city voters thought that sex education should be taught in public schools.”  And, the article implies that was enough to overcome opposition from a variety of groups.

Guess what?  In South Carolina a survey conducted in 1997, replicated in 2004 and replicated again in 2007 indicated that 81% of South Carolina registered voters support sex education being taught in South Carolina public schools that emphasizes abstinence but also includes information on contraception.”  Want more? Community level surveys conducted in Spartanburg County (87% support) and Horry County (87%) in 2011 indicate that support may actually be increasing!

The question is no longer “can we do that here” rather, we must begin to ask ourselves “do we have the will, drive and commitment to GET IT DONE here!”  We are on our way, so one final question - who’s with us?

By: Forrest Alton, CEO, SC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy