Podcast Script

Did you know that 1 in 3 teenage girls in the U.S. will become pregnant at least once before she reaches age 20? Although the teen pregancy rate in the U.S. has gone down from previous years, these statistics show that teen pregnancy is still a problem in America. So, for the first half of the podcast I will discuss the effect that teen pregnancy can have on a girl or boy in their teen years.

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An unplanned preganacy can have dire consequences for a teenage boy and girl. Things such as completing high school, going to college, getting a good paying job and also threats to potenetial future relationships are just some of those consequences. Some believe that only the teenage girls suffers consequences but the facts show that this is not completely true. An unintended pregnancy can cause stress in a teenage boy's life. This can also affect their grades in school as well as put a strain on their relationship with their girlfriend or child's mother and their parents. Teen fathers also do not go as far in school or earn as much money as others within their age group, who are not fathers.

When a teen girl finds out that she is pregnant , she and her parents along with the baby's father and his parents have some hard choices to make. Some families decide to continue the pregnancy and then give the child up for adoption. Although this may be a good choice for the unborn child and it's parents. Some teen parents may feel a sense of loss and always wonder i if they made the right choice. Another choice that they may make is to keep the child and raise it the best way that they can, with the help and support of their families. Many families make this choice and discover that teen parenting can be a huge financial burden on them as well as their families that they were not prepared for.Others choose abortion as their option, which can also have consequences of it's own. Some women report depression as well as an increase in substance abuse after an abortion. Whatever decision that family decides to make, it will be a life changing and difficult one.

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The best way that parents can help their teens and prevent them from having to deal with the consequences of a teen pregnancy is to educate them about the responsibilities and dangers of being sexual active. So for the second half of our discussion today, I would like to talk about ways that teen pregnancy can be prevented.

First if all, parents need to talk to their children about the waiting to have sex until they are married or at least emotionally and financially mature enough to handle the responsibilities of a sexual relationship. Abstinence is the surest and safest way to do this. It's important for parents to talk to children early, before they begin to face pressures from their peers and the media. It is equally important to talk to your children often, aboout sex. One talk will not (emphasis) be enough! Teens need to know how their parents feel about sexuality. This will help them when the pressure is on to make decisions that they know they aren't ready to make.

Teach your children to say "no" the nice N.I.C.E. way!

N. Say no! Don't say "maybe someday" or later , say no decisively.

I. Make an "I" statement, like " I'm not going to have sex until I'm married". If your children is on the fence about waiting, this will not work. Help your children make the decision to wait before they get into a situation where they're being pressured.

C. If the person is still persistent "change" the subject and talk about something else .

E. Make sure that your child has an "exit" plan. Establish a code word that you child can use when calling you in a dangerous or compromising situation so that you know to come and get them immediately.

Set rules for your children.

Set an appropiate age for dating. Research has shown that teens who date someone two years older are involved sexually 26% of the time, if their partner is three years old 33%.

Set boundaries. Let your child know that their dates are welcome in the common areas of your homes such as the living or family room but not in personal spaces such as their bedroom.

Know where and whom your child is with when they leave tyour home. Ask the questions. Where will you be? What will you be doing? Who will you be with? When will you be home? Will adults be there? Let your child know that you don't want them spendinglong periods of time unsupervised. Also assure them that this is not because you don't trust them, but that it is for their safety.

Monitor what your child reads, watches and listens to, as well as what they view online. Computers and televisions should also be in common areas of the home so that parents can carefully monitor what their children watch . Often sexual suggestions are made through these mediums.

Keep the lines of communication open with your children so that if they get into trouble or in an uncomfortable situation, they will feel safe calling you.

No alcohol. No drugs. No tobacco. Share with your children how you feel about these substances and let them know the risks associated with them.

Your teen may not like all of the rules but they will appreciate the boundaries that you set to keep them safe.

And of course, as a parent ypu want to make sure that you educate your children about safe sex and how to protect themselves. This is not a go ahead to have sex but a way of teaching then the proper preventions and information so that they won't be decived into belieing misinformation.

Instructor Review

Some of things that I have considered about my webtext with regard to the instructors response to my first draft are: making sure that I have cited sources for the information that I have obtained and also organizing my text with colors that complement my topic. I have added my sources at the bottom of my text and also decided to stay with the colors that i originally started with but I have added an addition color to make my text so that the citiations stand out a little more. I added pictures and links to my text to make is more appealing to the eyes. Overall, the feedback that I have received has been very helpful and I have taken into consideration the areas where I can make my work better.

As fas as my review for my second draft I need to correct some grammatical errors as well as elaborate on some of my statistics. Yella also gave my a great idea to add a link for each STD that I take about so that my readers can get more detailed information on the subject.

Thanks for the feedback!

Peer Review

After reading my peer review I discovered thatmy text appeared to be wordy because I hadn't inserted any pictures and just one link to my text. So I have added pictures that I feel are relevant to my topic and will draw the readers interest in. I also found out that my writing is geared more towards parents of teens and those that have an influence over them. This was only part of my intended audience. So what I plan to do is finish my text my added the personal experiences of male and female teens as well as give information for both of them so that they can understand themselves better as well as relate to the other sex better.

I felt that my peer review was very helpful and helping me to see how I could make my writing better. It was also useful because my peer reviewer was in the age range that I am attempting to target with my text.

Teenage Sex: What's so good about it?

I have chosen to change my topic to focus on the issue of teenage sex in America. This topic is so important because so many teens are either having sex or are facing the issue of whether or not to have sex. My goal is to provide information to aid in helping teenagers or anyone else who is dealing with the issue of what choice to make. I also plan to discuss the issue of whether or not sex education programs in America's middle and high schools are or are not effect in equipping today's youth with the tools that they need to face this issue.

Millions of people will make up my audience because this is an issue that everyone has either dealt with or will deal with in the future. My audience will be mostly those that speak the English language, mostly because I am writing this webtext for the American teenager, parent, teacher and other concerned citizens that want to be informed about this issue. My audience will either know quite a bit or very little about this topic. My audience's knowledge base will depend on whether or not they have had sex education themselves or whether or not they have dealt with this issue personally whether as a teen or a parent. The reason that my audience would want to read this text is because it will deal with a different perspective that most articles or books have dealt with. My text will be different because it will dealt with the teen's view on what sex is all about, as well as some of the emotional things that they deal with during this time in their lives. I believe that my audience expects to be better informed on how to handle their own feelings about sex as well as how to talk to others about it. I also feel that this will be an effective tool for parents to use in discussing this issue with their own children. My audience will have a positive attitude about me and my work because I will give them a perspective that they possibly haven't thought of or wasn't away of before reading my work. After reading my work I hope that my audience will be able to discuss more openly the issue of sex and sexual behavior as well be able to make a better informed decisions for themselves.

My purpose is to inform as well as educate my readers so that they will be more effective in dealing the issue of teenage sex in their own personal lives whether that my be as a parent, teen or teacher of teens. I will do this by providing information on how to discuss this topic as a parent or teacher. I will also include in depth information for teenagers that will go beyond the typical information that they have received in their won sex education courses.

My tone will that of calm and relaxed because my audience will receive the information that I plan to provide more effectively that way. My style will be smooth yet persuasive at some points and my voice will be one of an advocate for teens who are struggling with this issue. My audience will best respond to these styles because alot of what they may have heard in the future has been alot different.