Monthly Focus - February

Febrauary is...

Heart Disease Awareness Month - Go Red For Women Campaign...wear Red on February 5th.   www.goredforwomen.org

It's a good time to talk about sexual health! http://www.cdc.gov/sexualhealth/ and www.kidshealth.org and www.sexetc.org -by teens for teens.

Time to Quit Dippin' - www.throughwithchew.com or www.spititouttexas.org

February Fact of the Month

February Facts - Valentine's Day....love and all that jazz.

Love is any of a number of emotions related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. Sex does not equal love. Just throwing that out there.  Here are some sex trands among teens you may want to be aware of so you can help steer some people in the right direction. What direction might that be? Personal responsibility and readiness.  Kids/teens teaching other teens about sex is scary...and all too common.  As an adult...talk to your kids about sexual responsibility, health, relationships, trends, etc.  As a kid...talk to your parents or other trusted adults...they may have a lot of wisdom to offer (from their own history).

 Trends, terms and teachable moments: 

• colored bracelets indicating what sexual acts you have done/or are willing to do.  
  
• sexting...once you put an image out there - you can never fully get it back! (same goes for sex tapes,video phones, etc)
  
• pregnancy pacts - groups of friends trying to get pregnant at the same time. motivation? anything from attention to government assistance to rebellion.
• Slang terms for oral sex (which is still sex...protection needed) look them up...too many to list here...and feeling awkward.
  
• age old sex issues to discuss - sex in public, STDs, pregnancy, casual sex, age difference, etc.