Sue Scheff: Straight Talk - Teens and Sex.. The Real Truth

With today's ever expanding Internet and television shows such as 16 and Pregnant, the vast amount of materials that are available to teens today about sex education is tremendous.  There are no excuses for teen pregnancies.  The availability of contraceptives as well as the many resources that are open to teens should help prevent unwanted pregnancies.

Sadly, there are some teens that see having a baby as a tool to keeping a boyfriend or even a way to have someone love them unconditionally.  Without thinking of the consequences, teenagers are not always mature enough to see the full picture of parenthood.  It is not playing house, and it is not a baby doll; Having a baby is a full time job and a massive responsibility.  Some adults have a hard time dealing with being a parent, a teen is hardly ready for this major step in life.

Straight Talk, Teens and Sex of Jacksonville is an organization that is designed to reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy and the spread of AIDS and other sexuality transmitted infections (STI's).
The facts about youth and sexual activity:

• Most very young teens have not had intercourse: 8 in 10 girls and 7 in 10 boys are virgins at age 15.
• While 93% of teenage women report that their first intercourse was voluntary, one-quarter of these young women report that it was unwanted.
• The younger women are when they first have intercourse, the more likely they are to have had unwanted or nonvoluntary first sex—7 in 10 of those who had sex before age 13, for example.
• The majority (61%) of young women's first voluntary sexual partners are younger, the same age or no more than 2 years older; 27% are 3–4 years older and 12% are 5 or more years older.

Reference: Straight Talk

As summer is fast approaching, teens will be attending parties, sleep-overs, and just hanging out.  Be sure they are educated on sex, relationships and contraceptives.
Be an educated parent, you will have safer and healthier teens.


Related articles:

Teen Sex
Talking Teen Sex
Teen Moms
Teen Pregnancy
Sex in the City 2

Sue Scheff: Teen Pregnancy - Stay Teen

Every day, more than 2,000 teen girls in the United States get pregnant. In fact, 3 in 10 girls will become pregnant by age 20. Not having sex is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy, though there are a lot of other good reasons to wait, too. But if you're having sex, you must use birth control carefully and correctly every single time you do.

The best time to think about how you would handle a risky situation is before you're in it. Will you say no? If so, how will you say it? And if you do go all the way, how will you protect yourself and your future?

Visit www.stayteen.org and learn more.

Sue Scheff: Taskforce to Combat Underage Drinking

The Task Force to Combat Underage Drinking in Broward County was created in 2004 by The United Way of Broward County Commission on Substance Abuse (BCCSA) with guidance from the Florida Office of Drug Control and funding from the Florida Department of Transportation. The Task Force mission is to reduce underage drinking in Broward County. Initial steps taken were to determine what programs were already being provided, and to identify gaps in what is needed. Programs are ongoing, as the Task Force begins a new funding year in October 2005.
DID YOU KNOW:


■Underage drinkers consume nearly 3.6 billion drinks a year - 10 million every day - according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services study.


Read more.

Sue Scheff: Wild West 2.0 Coming Soon!

Wild West 2.0
By Michael Fertik and David Thompson

Reputations are being destroyed with a mouse click. Good businesses are being undermined by false reviews planted by competitors. Lives are being ruined by smears and gossip online. Private secrets are being broadcast to the world. College applicants are being denied because of Facebook and MySpace. In short, everything you thought you knew about reputation is gone.


But take heart. It's not too late to fight back and take control of your reputation, your privacy, and your life. Wild West 2.0 gives you the tools you need to fight back against online defamation, online slander, and more. The book explains why the Internet is a new frontier, rich with opportunity but also rife with danger. It explains why self-reliance and self-defense are a necessity online. And it explains how the Internet became this way. In short, it arms you for the new Wild West. Get your copy now, or read the blog for more tips.

Order on Amazon today.

Sue Scheff: "I Love U Guys" Foundation

I Love You Guys Foundation

On September 27th, 2006 a gunman entered Platte Canyon High School, held seven girls hostage and ultimately shot and killed Emily Keyes. During the time she was held hostage, Emily sent her parents text messages... "I love you guys" and "I love u guys. k?" Emily's kindness, spirit, fierce joy, and the dignity and grace that followed this tragic event define the core of The "I Love U Guys" Foundation.

About:

We're pragmatic. Our initiative, The National Student Safety Collaborative (NS2C), started as a separate arm of the foundation under which to conduct some information gathering and research. The question was simple. "Can we really help?"


From the inception of the foundation the Keyes Family explored the arena of school safety. They attended symposiums, conferences and events about school safety. Tons of research. The foundation hosted roundtables of it's own. And the foundation contracted an Emergency Management Practioner to jumpstart the learning curve and make introductions. (Perhaps, the best research investment we made.)

Read more at http://www.iloveyouguys.org/ and a recent article about this story.

Sue Scheff: Partner with Your School Against Bullying - Bully Bust!

BullyBust is an awareness campaign designed to reduce bullying in schools by teaching students and adults how to stand up to bullying and promote upstander behavior. An upstander is someone who witnesses bully behavior and does something about it. Use the resources on BullyBust.org to transform your school or community from one of passive bystanders to a community of positive upstanders. Together we can put an end to bullying!

Educators, get critical supports for your school and join a dedicated community of schools nationwide: Sign up for the Partner School Program today.

Follow BullyBust on Twitter. Join their Facebook Campaign today!

Sue Scheff: Kids Magazine for Girls - Smart Girls Know

There’s a new magazine on the block, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re looking for more substance than your standard teen mag fare, but still with a cool, fun design and great content.

From the website, “Kiki Magazine is for girls who love life, appreciate creativity, and recognize good ideas. A Kiki reader thinks for herself, has her own look, and is on her way to being a confident, strong, and smart young woman. She’s a girl with style and substance!” Style and substance…what’s not to like about that?

In each issue of Kiki, which currently comes out four times a year, you’ll find articles and info on fashion, history, design, designers, accessories, and biographies; tips on using all kinds of different art tools, sewing and create-your-own projects; a look at creativity and culture in different countries; a behind-the-scenes look at the fashion industry; articles about grooming, health, and exercise; book reviews, recipes, and reader profiles; and games, puzzles, quizzes, and design-your-own activities.

Besides the truly great content of Kiki, what I love most about this magazine is its great design and accessibility. It’s gorgeous to look at, easy to peruse through, and it is ad-free, so there’s no worry about being bombarded with media images that might contradict the empowering content you’ll find inside.

One more thing I love about the Spring 2010 issue? It features my book In Their Shoes: Extraordinary Women Describe Their Amazing Careers in its Book Club section. Thanks Kiki!

To check it out, visit the Kiki Magazine website where you can learn more about the current issue and subscribe, or go to your local Barnes & Noble or Borders (if they’re not already carrying it, ask them to!).

Source: Smart Girls Know - by Deborah Reber

Sue Scheff: The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc.

The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc.

For many years you may have heard of Junior Leagues, but what exactly is there mission and who exactly are they?

Read more:

Welcome to the website of The Association of Junior Leagues International Inc. And welcome to the world of over 160,000 women in 293 Leagues in four countries who make a difference in their communities every day through their volunteer efforts.

As we travel across the Association, we are truly humbled, moved and awed by the amazing work the women in this organization do, continuing the work that women as Junior League members have been doing for over 100 years. Our website celebrates the energy, vision, determination and savvy of our Leagues and their members.

We hope you'll take the time to read about what Leagues today are doing. We hope you'll consider joining a League, sponsoring one of our activities or attending an event. And we hope you'll share our passion for this remarkable organization and its members.

Visit http://www.ajli.org/ for more information and find your local chapter today. Start making a difference in lives in your community.

Sue Scheff: School Climate - Keeping Connect to Your Schools Issues

About School Climate

Our goal is to promote positive and sustained school climate: a safe, supportive environment that nurtures social and emotional, ethical, and academic skills.

CSEE is an organization that helps schools integrate crucial social and emotional learning with academic instruction. In doing so, we enhance student performance, prevent drop outs, reduce physical violence, bullying, and develop healthy and positively engaged adults.

For more than a decade CSEE has worked together with the entire academic community—teacher, staff, school-based mental health professionals, students and parents—to improve a climate for learning.

We help translate research into practice by establishing meaningful and relevant guidelines, programs and services that support a model for whole school improvement with a focus on school climate.

What a fantastic organization and very timely!!!! Visit www.schoolclimate.org today!

Sue Scheff: ADucate Your Teens

Every day, your child and teenagers are exposed to advertising - not just on TV and online, but on buses, buildings, and even inside their classrooms. Many ads target kids ages 8 to 12. Given what kids see and hear around them, it's important for them to know how to decode and understand ads.

As the nation's consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission, (FTC) is responsible for enforcing laws that prohibit unfair and deceptive advertising and marketing practices. It brings cases, issues guidance to businesses, and educates consumers about their rights. Consumers can file a complaint or get free information about consumer issues at ftc.gov.

Recently the FTC launched Admongo which helps educate kids with a behind the scene look at what advertising does. It is time to ADucate your teens and kids!

Read more and watch video examples!

Sue Scheff: The Hang Up - Stop Texting and Driving

• 
  Driving and texting kills. Period the end. Today, April 30th, has been declared by the Queen of Talk, Oprah Winfrey, as National No Phone Zone Day. As many are following her lead, Florida has joined in by creating The Great Hang Up!
  
  Eighty percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involve some type of distraction. Take cell phones for example - their use while driving can reduce the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. Drivers who use phones are four times as likely to get into crashes. - Source: First Coast News
  
  Using a cell phone while driving can delay a person's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.
• Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, and more than half a million were injured.
  Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves.
• Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.
  Eighty percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involve some type of distraction.