Proposal for Family Life Education
YUSH: Youth Understanding Sexual Health
A Proposal for a Family Life Education Program
Studies show that the national average for an adolescent’s first sexual intercourse encounter is seventeen years old. Despite this number being very close to the average age in other industrialized countries, the United States holds a higher percentage of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) contraction than those countries (Harper et al, 2010, p. 125). It’s becoming evident that while a majority of the nation’s youth is sexually active, they are not doing so with the appropriate knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.
It’s been proven that if parents were to educate students about sex education, healthy sexual behaviors might increase. Many parents, however, refuse to do this because they feel that talking about sex with youth will make them have sex, ignoring the fact that whether the youth are talked to or not, they are having sex. It has even been stated that some teens prefer to get the information from their parents, as opposed to other educators (Zamboni & Silver, 2009, p. 58 – 59). Unfortunately, if the parents refuse to talk to the students about sex, they become sexually active without this crucial information. As the rates of STDs and teenage pregnancies rise in our country, youths between the ages of 12 and 20 years old could definitely benefit from the introduction of a family life education program focused on teaching the difference between healthy and unhealthy sexual behaviors. A program known as Youth Understanding Sexual Health (YUSH) would be the perfect venue for doing just this. A program developed for teens in middle and/or high school, YUSH is a seven week program that seeks to ensure that these youths realize the difference between healthy and unhealthy behaviors, the consequences and results of participating in both, and how to make sure that they avoid negative, harmful, and otherwise unhealthy sexual
A Proposal for a Family Life Education Program
Studies show that the national average for an adolescent’s first sexual intercourse encounter is seventeen years old. Despite this number being very close to the average age in other industrialized countries, the United States holds a higher percentage of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) contraction than those countries (Harper et al, 2010, p. 125). It’s becoming evident that while a majority of the nation’s youth is sexually active, they are not doing so with the appropriate knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.
It’s been proven that if parents were to educate students about sex education, healthy sexual behaviors might increase. Many parents, however, refuse to do this because they feel that talking about sex with youth will make them have sex, ignoring the fact that whether the youth are talked to or not, they are having sex. It has even been stated that some teens prefer to get the information from their parents, as opposed to other educators (Zamboni & Silver, 2009, p. 58 – 59). Unfortunately, if the parents refuse to talk to the students about sex, they become sexually active without this crucial information. As the rates of STDs and teenage pregnancies rise in our country, youths between the ages of 12 and 20 years old could definitely benefit from the introduction of a family life education program focused on teaching the difference between healthy and unhealthy sexual behaviors. A program known as Youth Understanding Sexual Health (YUSH) would be the perfect venue for doing just this. A program developed for teens in middle and/or high school, YUSH is a seven week program that seeks to ensure that these youths realize the difference between healthy and unhealthy behaviors, the consequences and results of participating in both, and how to make sure that they avoid negative, harmful, and otherwise unhealthy sexual
References: Department of Public Health: Seattle & King County (2011, January 1). STD Risks. Family Life and Sexual Health. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/famplan/educators/FLASH.aspx Harper, C., Henderson, J., Schalet, A., Becker, D., Stratton, L., & Raine, T. (2010). Abstinence and Teenagers: Prevention Counseling Practices of Health Care Providers Serving High-Risk Patients in the United States. Perspectives on Sexual & Reproductive Health, 42(2), 125-132. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from the EBSCO database. National Council on Family Relations. (2011, January 2). CFLE Certification. NCFR. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from http://www.ncfr.org/ Powell, L. H., & Cassidy, D. (2007). Family life education: working with families across the life span (2nd ed.). Long Grove, Ill.: Waveland Press, Inc. Zamboni, B., & Silver, R. (2009). Family Sex Communication and the Sexual Desire, Attitudes, and Behavior of Late Adolescents. American Journal of Sexuality Education , 4, 58-78. Retrieved April 3, 2011, from the EBSCO database.