Thought about sex? Who hasn't? But do you know what you'll do when the moment arrives? How will you avoid getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant? Wednesday, May 7th is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and we want you to get involved! Take this short, fun quiz that puts you in a series of risky situations and asks you to decide how you would react. You might be surprised by your decisions…
What are you wating for? Take the National Day Quiz now! |
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One out of every three teen girls gets pregnant at least once before they reach age 20. Many teens say they are concerned about pregnancy, but still think "it can't happen to me." But it does - to 750,000 girls every year. And the number one reason teen guys and girls give for not using protection is that they weren't planning to have sex and that it "just happened." The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is designed to get you thinking about how a pregnancy might affect your life and to help you come up with a plan for avoiding pregnancy.
Not only do we want you to take the National Day Quiz during May, but we also need you to help us spread the word about the National Day. Why not post the National Day Quiz on your Facebook or MySpace page or forward the quiz to everyone you know? Here are a bunch of simple ideas for spreading the word about the National Day and getting our friends to take the online quiz:
Tell Your Friends...
1. Add our National Day widget to your MySpace or Facebook profile, blog, or website.
2. Place a link to StayTeen.org on your online profile or your personal website and ask your friends to add link to their pages, too. Stay Teen has a MySpace profile and a Facebook group, too. Check us out and make us your friend!
3. On May 7th, send an email to all of your friends telling them to take the National Day Quiz at StayTeen.org. Encourage them to pass along the link to friends so it spreads like a chain letter.
4. Put a link to the National Day Quiz at http://www.StayTeen.org/quiz on your IM online profile and tell your friends to do the same.
Spread the Word at School...
1. Create flyers that highlight teen pregnancy statistics and encourage your classmates to take the National Day Quiz at StayTeen.org. Hand out these flyers in school (for example, in your homeroom or in the cafeteria) or at well attended events like dances, sporting events, pep rallies, assemblies, concerts etc.
2. Make posters about the National Day and put them up on your locker, around school, and any other place where teens will see them. Or you can download our National Day posters here and here.
3. Ask your principal to talk to all teachers in the school, or approach teachers individually, about giving out extra credit points to students who can prove they took the National Day Quiz. Have classmates print out the last page of the quiz to show that they took it.
4. Ask your art teacher to assign a project dealing with teen pregnancy. Projects could include paintings, drawings, sculptures, collages, pretty much whatever. The projects could then be displayed throughout the school (in classrooms, art rooms, the school entrance, the gym, hallways, etc.) throughout the month of May.
5. Make an announcement during the day on May 7th (even if it’s just in your homeroom) urging other students to log on to http://www.StayTeen.org/quiz to take the National Day Quiz.
6. If your school does not have computers available for teens to take the National Day Quiz, download and print out the hard copy version from StayTeen.org. Make lots of copies and hand them out to everyone you know. Download the English version and Spanish version now.
7. Ask your health class teacher (or any other teacher of an appropriate subject) if class time on May 7th could be spent taking the National Day Quiz. If a computer lab is not available to use, print out copies of the National Day Quiz in English and Spanish and have the class take it using a hard copy paper version. Use the our Discussion Guide for Teens to further the conversation.
Get Your Community Involved...
1. Talk to your friends who go to other schools about the things you are doing to promote the National Day, and encourage them to start similar efforts in their schools!
2. Ask your religious group leaders to focus a portion of the service during the first week in May on the importance of teen pregnancy prevention, and ask him to urge the young members of the community to take the National Day Quiz.
3. Send a press release to your local newspapers. A sample press release that you can customize is availble here. Make sure to add information about any cool National Day activities or events you know of that are happening in your community.
4. Ask local business owners to hang up posters or flyers about the National Day in their store. You can download our National Day posters here and here.
5. Talk to your local coffee shops and other businesses that offer free wireless internet connections and ask them if they are willing to display posters that encourage their customers to visit http://www.StayTeen.org/quiz to take the National Day Quiz. You can download our National Day posters here and here.
6. On May 6th and 7th call up local radio stations and request a song dedicated to teen pregnancy prevention in honor of The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Ask the station if they might be willing to tell listeners to take the National Day Quiz at StayTeen.org.
"The National Day Quiz really made me think. I was thinking about having sex before, but now I know that I am not ready for it."
- Girl, age 14
"The Quiz did teach me things and made me think about something I was going to do with my boyfriend. I will have to rethink it now, knowing more about the consequences."
- Girl, age 14
Wow! The Quiz made me think about sex in a whole new light. You made the situations so real that I could picture myself in the kids' shoes. Thanks for shedding some light!
- Girl, age 15
"I really think it's good for other teenagers or parents to take this quiz. It tells us the risks and situations that most people don't really think will happen to them… Situations like these happen all the time no matter who or where you are. Good job!!"
- Guy, age 16
"When I was 14, I had sex and although it was great for the moment, it had so much baggage that came along with it. I really wish I took this quiz before I made my mistake, but it doesn't mean I can't say no in the future."
- Girl, age 17
"The Quiz really opened up my eyes! I just wish I had taken it before...then maybe I wouldn't be pregnant!"
- Girl, age 17
"I thought it was really informative and that this is the kind of stuff teens today are facing. Even though a lot of my friends aren't virgins, I don't mind being one of the few. One of your questions made me feel even more right about my choice of abstinence."
- Guy, age 17