CBAE Grant - LoveU2^®: Baby Smarts Word File

Love U2^® -- Baby Smarts: Through the Eyes of a Child

Lesson 1: Pregnancy—How It Happens; Effects on Him, Her, and the Relationship

(C1)(C2) 1. How it Happens: Test Your Pregnancy Knowledge (pg 2) True/false group reaction guide teaches how pregnancy happens, that contraception may fail to prevent pregnancy or STDs, and the possible side effects of contraceptives. Depo-Provera may interfere with development of bone mass which is critical for young females. (pgs 2-5) Note: A thorough treatment of STDs, including Dr. Meg Meeker’s video, The Rules Have Changed, is found in lesson 7 of Sex Smarts unit of the Love U2^® program.

(C1) 2. Contraception and Teen Reliability (pgs 5-7) Group brainstorm raises awareness on real world use by teens. Insights are drawn from teen brain development. Maybe that’s why the group that uses condoms more consistently and correctly is married couples. But still, studies have found that most people, young and old married or unmarried, do not use condoms consistently.  Infomercial Poster Activity. Teens create infomercial posters to educate other teens. (pg 7)

(B2) Straight Talk to Sexually Active Teens (Resource 1c, pg 23) This discussion handout puts the key questions on the table to sexually active teens in a compelling way that encourages them to change course. It underscores there is no protection from STDs with hormonal contraceptives, that those contraceptives may only be as good as the person is reliable in the real world, that condoms give incomplete protection, STDs are mostly a symptomatic and life-threatening, girls’ cervixes are more vulnerable, and that a child suffers the most if sex results in a child. Is sex giving you what you want? 8 out of 10 first time-teen sexual relationships last 6 months or less, one-quarter are one-time occurrences. “You always have the option to dump an ex you no longer like, but a child that results from your sexual experience does not have that option. Just because you said ‘yes’ before, doesn’t mean you can’t say ‘no’ now”. Note that Love U2’s^® Sex Smarts unit has an entire lesson devoted to Changing Course.

(F2) Activity: Listen Up Guys!  (pg 8)  Teaches males who father children out of wedlock the basic legal and economic realities through use of a Family Feud team game format.

(E1) (D2) (B1) 5. Read Aloud Ben’s Story (pgs 9-10). Poignant autobiographical story of how sexual involvement changed Ben’s life and affected him at a deep emotional level. Discussion questions include: In the beginning, before Ben and Pam had sex, their relationship seemed very good. How did their relationship change after they had sex? The issues of personal integrity and honor about the consequences (not just for him but others) arising from his sexual behavior are raised by Ben himself.

(E1) (D2) Writing/Discussion: Soul-Searching Issues for Young Fathers and Their Partners
 (pgs 9-10)  Harmful psychological effects are explored and how non-marital sex may harm others. “How would you feel when your child gets older and wonders where his or her father was when s/he needed him? How do you feel about your own dad? What he there for you? How would it feel to accept whatever decision your pregnant girlfriend makes? How would you feel about turning over parental rights? How would you feel if your ex’s new boyfriend began to play the role of father to your child?”

(E1)  7. The Couple’s Relationship and the Future (pgs 13-14). Talking points provided for discussion center in on how most teen relationships involving pre-marital sex and a pregnancy fall apart, how the freedom to fulfill and enjoy emotional health and age-appropriate social developmental stages is inhibited. 

(F2) (D1)(H) Activity: 6. Effects on Her—Basic Realities, Concept Check Activity (pgs 11-12) Teens learn that bearing a child out of wedlock increases the likelihood that the mother will live in poverty, become dependent on welfare and experience significant delays/interference with achieving life goals; that unwed childbearing is associated with failed relationships. She is less likely to ever be married. Teen unwed mothers are twice as likely as other women to remain unmarried by age 35.  Activity: Create a Rap or Poster Something Every Teen Should Know (pgs 12-13). with above information for public display. Underscores the importance of attaining self-sufficiency.

(E1) 6. Effects on Her—Basic Realities; and 8 .Effects on Her Future Relationships (pgs 12-15) In this section teens learn through real life testimonies about 1) the potential harmful psychological effects, 2) how and why sexual relationships resulting in pregnancy generally do not endure into an intimate enduring relationship, and 3) the short term and unstable nature of many teen sexual relationships.

(D1) (E1) Activity: 8 .Effects on Her Future Relationships, Assignment/Discussion of Judy’s Story (pg 16 IM) (Judy’s Story, Art of Loving Well, pg 240)  This story shows how non-marital sex in the teen years reduced her chances of a stable, happy marriage as an adult.

Lesson 2: Teen Pregnancy From the Eyes of a Child.

(A)(F1) Activity: 2. What a Baby Wants – Ad Activity (pgs 27-28). Builds a foundation for understanding the many gains for the child by waiting until marriage for sex. Teens write ads for an unborn child looking for a family. Teens become aware of how marriage is the structure, which can improve the well being of children. Ask the group to consider the ways in which a healthy marriage might help achieve the qualities and characteristics they have just described in their ads.

(D2) Activity: 3. Story Welcome(pg. 28) (Welcome found in The Art of Loving Well, pg. 66) and Drawing activity and Contrast Between Teen and Baby Needs. Powerfully illustrates that non-marital teen sexual activity may harm others.

(D2) Lily’s Letter, (pg 39-43, Resource 2b) A letter written by a baby in-utero describes the effects of her teen mother’s behavior and raises poignant questions about her daddy and her mother’s future ability to give her what she needs. Emotionally engages teens to consider the harm to the baby herself.

(E2)(F1)(H) Test Your Baby Smarts Quiz (pgs 31-33) Informs teens of the risks of decreased school completion and income potential for teen parents. Presents research findings on the harmful risks for poverty, abuse, school failure, emotional and behavioral problems, and incarceration faced by children born out of wedlock. Powerfully brings home the importance of attaining self-sufficiency before engaging in sex—which can always possibly create a child.

Lesson 3: What About Fathers—Do They Matter?

(D2)(E1)(F2) Activity: 1. What’s Good Fathering? Messages From Music (pg 47-48 ) A deeply engaging and compelling contemporary music activity teaches that non-marital sex may harm others, that it carries potential psychological effects (depression, domestic violence, suicide) for children who result from pre-marital sex; the harmful effects of relationship failure and the unstable nature of these relationships.
 
(D2) 2. Do Fathers Contribute Something Unique? (pg 48 – 50)  Shows how non-marital sex may harm others.

(F2) 3. The Case of Disappearing Fathers. Video: Charles Ballard-Teen Fathers (pg 53) We model responsible fatherhood. We respect our wives….We do not have sex outside of marriage.Actvity:4. Activity on Ten Ways to Be a Better Father (pg 57, Resource 3a) Tips from National Fatherhood Initiative. Shows the central role of healthy marriage to responsible fatherhood.

Lesson 4: The First Few Years Part I—Before They’re Even Born; Attachment and Emotional Attunement; Early Brain Development.

(F1)(H) 1. The First Few Years—Why They’re So Important (pgs. 61-62) Shows why bearing a child out of wedlock is likely to have harmful consequences for children. Underscores the importance of achieving self-sufficiency before having a child—a key risk of pre-marital sex. Activity: Helping or Hurting a Fetus (pg 64) Teaches how marriage may decrease the risks of maternal stress and exposure to teratogens, and improve nutrition—all of which help a developing fetus.
Activity:3. The Attachment Bond and Building Baby’s Brain—A Game of Application (pgs 67-79)  Shows how the quality of the parental union—marriage—can assist the attachment process and help parents provide the nurturing experiences children need.

Lesson 5: The First Few Years Part II—Early Socialization and Parenting Practices; Early Experiences and Child Outcomes.

(F1, F2)(H)  4. Three Common Childrearing Patterns, (Pgs 112-113) Activity: Which Parenting Style? Game board. (Resource 5d, in binder pocket) Contributes to awareness of how the lack of, or existence of, a healthy marriage relationship affects parenting and child wellbeing. Ask the group to discuss the issues or problems divorce might present for effective discipline. Does discipline tend to get compromised when kids divide their time between two homes? Activity: Early Experiences and Child Outcomes: Role Play using Three Cognitive Babes. (pg 113) Capstone activity weaving together many strands of how and why healthy marriage impacts a child’s development and outcomes. Underscores need to attain self-sufficiency first.

Lesson 6: Decisions About Pregnancy.

(B1) Activity:  3. Keeping My Baby—Critical Questions to Ask,  Poems by Kids Who Paid the Price. (pgs 137-137) These hard-hitting questions/issues for a pregnant teen are designed as a prevention strategy—getting teens to appreciate that abstinence from sexual activity is the expected standard for all school-age children.

(D2) Activity: 2. Adoption: Two Stories, Read Aloud and Discussion of ‘Jessie’s Letter’  (p. 134) (Resource 6a, pg 147) and Young Single Father’s Experience (pgs 143-144) both raise issues of personal integrity, honesty, and accountability when reflecting on the harm the consequence of pre-marital sex has caused her child and his child.  

(D1)(E1) 4. Post-Birth Relationship Realities (pg 140)  Activities and discussion drive home the likelihood of relationship failure associated with pre-marital sex and pregnancy, and how it may reduce the probability of a stable, happy marriage as an adult.

Lesson 7: Marriage—Does It Really Matter? Part I

(F2) Activity: Benefit Cards: Marriage Benefits—Jigsaw Presentation (Resource 7a, pgs 163-182). With permission from authors Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher, summary sheets for each of the marriage benefits (health, happiness and emotional health, sexual satisfaction, wages and wealth, parenting and risk for domestic violence) documented in their book, The Case for Marriage, have been prepared for this activity. Students prepare visuals to aid in their presentations.

Lesson 8: Marriage—Does It Really Matter? Part II

(G1) Activities: 1. Why Is Marriage In Trouble? The Rise of Cohabitation: Myths & Facts. Why Do Some Marriages Fail and Others Succeed? Prevention Education for Successful Marriage. Can of Worms—What Do You Expect? Lowering Your Personal Chances of Divorce. (pgs 183 – 218) Each activity enhances a sense of personal efficacy and increases teens’ confidence and future capacity to form a healthy marriage. Informs with research-based knowledge on marital success and failure. Introduces teens to skills-based prevention programs featured at Smart Marriages. Teaches teens to find resources on the web. Uses stories and films of successful marriages to inspire. Gives practice in thinking about and communicating expectations about marriage.

Lesson 9: Troubled Parental Relationship and Kids

(F1)Activity:  1. Divorce- Where Do You Stand? (pg 220);  Sculpting Activity: 2. Troubled Relationships-How Do Kids Feel (pg 221); Story Activity: 3. Distant Bell& Shana’s Story (pg 222) (A Distant Bell found in the Art of Loving Well, pg 49)(Shana’s Story, Resource 9c, pg 233) and 4. Do’s and Don’ts Project for Family Court: Should Parents Stay Together? (pgs 223-225)  Teaches that healthy marriages can greatly improve the well-being of children and adults. Deepens understanding about the potential harmful consequences of out-of-wedlock birth, destructive marriages and divorce.

Lesson 10: Soul Food—The Power of True Love and Enduring Commitment

(F2)  1. Panel Interview and Informal Discussion ( pgs 237-238)
 Teaches the beneficial effects of a healthy marriage to the well-being of adults. Through an inter-generational discussion about love, commitment, and marriage, teens are inspired and motivated by the tales of successful married couples.