Create a national, state, or local campaign or program that encourages parent-child communication about sexuality.
To reach large audiences and diverse populations on the national, state, or local level, groups can develop a campaign or program addressing the importance of having ongoing parent-child discussions about sexuality. Incorporating culturally specific messages, these campaigns or programs can engage the public through the media as well as community resources.
Talking with Kids about Tough Issues
Organization: Kaiser Family Foundation, Menlo Park, CA
Children Now, Oakland, CA
Nickelodeon, New York, NY
Original Target Audience: Parents/caregivers and their children nationwide
Language: Materials available in English and Spanish
Established in 1995, Talking with Kids about Tough Issues is a national campaign sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Children Now that encourages parents to talk about "tough issues"—including sexuality, violence, alcohol, drugs, and respect—before their children reach adolescence. In March 2001, the Talking with Kids campaign launched an on-going partnership with Nickelodeon. As part of this collaboration, they both released Talking With Kids about Tough Issues: A National Survey of Parents and Kids. This survey of parents and their children eight to 15 years of age found that while most parents have talked with their pre-teens about alcohol, drugs, and violence, they have usually not discussed sexuality-related issues; mothers are more likely than fathers to have the responsibility of addressing sexuality-related issues; when parents do talk to their children about sexuality-related issues, many young people do not recall the conversation; young people are less likely than their parents to consider these talks as happening on a "regular" basis, recalling instead having just talked a "couple of times"; sexuality-related issues are among the topics that parents are most likely to delay talking about until their children bring it up; and young people want more information about
sexuality-related topics.
The campaign includes PSAs, targeting both parents and kids, that air on Nickelodeon and other Viacom properties (including CBS, TNN, CMT, Nick at Nite, and Noggin).The PSAs are tagged with resources developed for young people and parents, including Web sites and a toll-free hotline.
Campaign materials are also distributed to young people and parents through local events, mass mailings, and collaboration with other parent and youth-serving organizations. Since the campaign's launch, more than 50,000 free guides for parents in Spanish and English have been requested through the hotline (1-800-CHILD-44) as well as on their two Web sites (http://www.talkingwithkids.org and http://www.EverythingNick.com).
Talking with Kids also provides direct outreach to young people via
the Internet at the campaign's "Talk" Web site (http://www.nick.com/your_world /nick_talk/index.jhtml), where kids can take a monthly
"Talk Challenge" and raise a tough issue with a parent, participate
in an online poll, and receive encouragement to talk to their parents
and caregivers.
For more information:
Talking with Kids about Tough Issues
The Kaiser Family Foundation
Julia Davis, Program Officer
Program on Public Health Information and Partnerships
2400 Sand Hill Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025
Phone: 650/854-9400
Hotline: 800/CHILD-44
Fax: 650/854-4800
Web sites:
http://www.kff.org
http://www.talkingwithkids.org
http://www.EverythingNick.com
http://www.nick.com/your_world/nick_talk/index.jhtml
Adults and Children Talking
Organization: Governor's Council on Adolescent Pregnancy,
part of the Governor's Office for Children, Youth, and Families, Baltimore, MD
Original Target Audience: Parents and caregivers statewide
Language: Materials and sessions in English
Since 1986, The Maryland Governor's Council on Adolescent Pregnancy (GCAP)—part of the Governor's Office for Children, Youth, and Families—has implemented a comprehensive strategy to reduce teen pregnancy statewide.
Two parts of this strategy are a media campaign that started in 1986—utilizing television, radio, outdoor media, and print media—to convey messages that promote the delay of sexual initiation among young people (targeted at young people nine to14 and their adult influencers) and the Adults and Children Talking (AACT) program, which began in 1998 as Parents and Children Talking, and promotes parents as the primary sexuality educators of their children.
AACT, which is implemented by the Interagency Committee on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention and Parenting in each county, is adapted to each community or target audience. It also incorporates elements from the media campaign, including brochures, door hangers, and lesson plans that expand upon the Governor's Council on Adolescent Pregnancy commercials, billboards, and posters.
The Governor's Council on Adolescent Pregnancy provides training and continuing education to AACT providers that address communication skills and sexuality-related information. Providers receive materials to design, implement, and evaluate their own AACT program with the help of local community leaders, youth service professionals, health care providers, religious leaders, teens, and parents. Presentations may target parents and caregivers with children of various ages. They can take place in school, health care, faith-based, or public settings.
Previous AACT interventions included hosting a teen pregnancy-prevention theatre group in local middle schools, presenting an hour-long evening program on risk-taking behaviors to parents and elementary school-aged children, and offering students a
one-day homework pass if their parents or caregivers attend an evening workshop on sexuality, communication, and limit-setting.
Adults and Children Talking
"One important lesson GCAP has learned is to provide technical assistance to community programs. Another lesson GCAP has learned is the importance of having products printed in different languages. GCAP is in the process of translating the previously developed AACT materials into other languages. GCAP is also developing new materials that are specifically geared to the Hispanic/Latino community."
-Governor's Council on Adolescent Pregnancy
For more information:
Adults and Children Talking
Governor's Office for Children,Youth, and Families/
Governor's Council on Adolescent Pregnancy (OCYF/GCAP)
Catrice Alphonso, GCAP Director
301 West Preston Street, 15th Floor
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410/767-4160
877/MD-YOUTH
Fax: 410/333-5248
E-mail: catrice@mail.ocyf.state.md.us
Web site: http://www.ocyf.state.md.us
Be There for Teens (UPDATED)
Organization: Rhode Island Department of Health, Providence, RI
Original Target Audience: Parents and other adults statewide
Language: Materials available in English and Spanish
Be There for Teens is a media campaign sponsored by the Rhode Island Department of Health that began in 2001.The campaign message and media choices were based on a literature review, community forums, and focus groups. The Rhode Island
Department of Health also conducted a phone survey in which parents identified drugs, alcohol, and sexuality as areas they considered difficult but important to discuss with their teens. Consisting of brochures, posters, and television and radio PSAs in both English and Spanish, this campaign challenges parents and other adults to build caring relationships with teens by talking about and listening to everyday topics as well as sensitive topics such as sexuality. In addition, it provides positive images of youth
to help counterbalance negative media images.
Currently, the Rhode Island Department of Health does not have funding for the Be There for Teens radio and television PSAs. They do however disseminate the brochures and posters when community groups request materials. Additionally, the campaign is now focused on marketing other sexuality-related programs that they offer to help parents and other caring adults communicate and connect with teens.
A website has been launched for parents of young people nine to 17 years of age and the providers who serve them. It includes a section dedicated to parenting classes and workshops, activities and services for kids and families, and tips on raising pre-teens and teens that offers a new tip every month.
Be There for Teens
"Campaigns should have a mechanism by which people can get more information. We used the Family Health Information Line, where people could call to request a brochure with 10 tips on parenting teens as well as referrals on other resources. We also followed up with radio talk shows in English and Spanish to give more information about parenting."
-Rhode Island Department of Health
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"Partnering with other state agencies and community service providers can help turn an idea into reality. In our case, partnerships enabled joint marketing and
made the web site possible."
-Jan Shedd
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For more information:
Be There for Teens
Rhode Island Department of Health
Jan Shedd, Chief, Office for Family, Youth & School Success
3 Capitol Hill, Room 302
Providence, RI 02908
Phone: 401/222-5927
Fax: 401/222-1442
Web site: http://www.healthri.gov/family/ofyss/teens/index.php
Campaign for Our Children
Organization: Campaign for Our Children, Baltimore, MD
Original Target Audience: Parents, grandparents, other adults, and
young people nine to 14 years of age statewide
Language: Materials in English, some in Spanish
Campaign for Our Children (CFOC) was established in 1987 to address the high teen pregnancy rate in Maryland. This parent-child communication campaign offers a variety of mass media education materials, including television and radio commercials, billboards, posters, brochures, and other advertising tools, to communicate preventative health messages to young people nine to 14 years of age and their parents/grandparents.
The materials are intended to help parents and grandparents increase their knowledge, beliefs, and comfort with discussing sexuality-related issues; increase communication with their children and grandchildren about sexuality; reinforce and model behavior
that indicates they are the primary sexuality educators of their children and grandchildren; learn how to start conversations and answer questions about sexuality; clarify feelings, values, and expectations; support their children's and grandchildren's decision to abstain from sexual intercourse; and provide parents and grandparents with information and resources on the prevention of child sexual abuse.
Messages include "Want Your Parents to Really Listen to You? Try Talking About Sex," "Mom, Dad, Talk with Us about Love, Sex, Values. We Need You Now," and "Talk With Your Kids about Sex. Everyone Else Is." CFOC's materials are incorporated into
adolescent pregnancy-prevention programs in schools and community organizations throughout the United States and in other countries such as Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Canada, Yugoslavia, and Germany.
Campaign for Our Children also offers an online parent resource center (http://www.cfoc.org/4_parent/4_index.cfm) to teach parents and caregivers about teen risk-taking behaviors, including sexual activity. Providing information on "How to Talk with Your Kids about Sex," "How to Talk with Your School Board about Sex," and "Is Your Child at Risk? An Interactive Quiz," the resource center also maintains a bulletin board for parents. Another feature includes frequently-asked questions from parents and caregivers that are answered by CFOC staff.
An evaluation of a mass media campaign in North Carolina that used CFOC's billboards, television, and radio PSAs to encourage parents of adolescents to talk to their children about sexuality is currently under review for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
Campaign for Our Children
"Media campaigns are most effective when reinforced by community and school-based programs."
-Campaign for Our Children
For more information:
Campaign for Our Children
Bronwyn Mayden
120 West Fayette Street, Suite 1200
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410/223-3563
Fax: 410/752-2191
E-mail: bronwyn@cfoc.org
Web site: http://www.cfoc.org
Family Communication: Stop, Listen
and Talk with Teens about Sex (UPDATED)
Organization: California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom, San Francisco, CA
Original Target Audience: Parents and caregivers statewide
Tool Kit Target Audience: Health educators, community organizers, and others working with parents and caregivers
Language: Materials available in English, Spanish, and Taglish
(a mix of Tagalog—the official language of the Philippines—and English)
Family Communication: Stop, Listen and Talk with Teens about Sex is a campaign developed by the California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom (CCRF), a diverse group of 36 statewide organizations committed to protecting reproductive health and freedom. As part of the campaign, member organizations are trained to conduct workshops for parents and caregivers on reaching out to California youth about sexuality, pregnancy, and STDs, as well as educating about the need for teen access to reproductive health services. To date, CCRF's family communication public education project
has trained more than 75 speakers statewide.
The campaign also reaches parents and caregivers through its Web site in English (http://www.familycommunication.org), Spanish (http://www.familycommunication.org/espanol/index.asp), and "Taglish" (http://www.familycommunication.org/TAGbrochure.pdf), and through its brochure Stop, Listen and Talk with Teens about Sex, distributed to nearly 200,000 parents in English, Spanish, and Taglish.
Because of the success of this campaign, CCRF received more funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to develop a partnership with two teen pregnancy coalitions in San Mateo County for a county-wide media campaign using the materials already developed. Launched in October 2001, the campaign continued until October
2002. The campaign includes counter displays, newspaper ads, bus advertisements, and posters. It is based on six of the "tips" found in their brochures for parents, including "Teens Learn from You," and "Assure Them that their Feelings are Natural." CCRF released a new tip every two months. The project included a full evaluation that demonstrated the success of the campaign. While the campaign has ended, CCRF continues to work with one of the partners in San Mateo county. They are also continuing to provide technical assistance to any of the four "Packard Counties": San Mateo, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara who want to implement any part of the campaign.
In order to make this campaign available to a wide array of educators and organizers nationally, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation has funded CCRF to develop and implement a Tool Kit to help people implement all or part of this social marketing campaign in their own communities. The Tool Kit will include a CD-ROM with all of the materials previously developed including the brochures, ads, and posters. Additional Chinese, Vietnamese, and Tongan images were added to thee posters. The Tool Kit will be available in Fall 2004.
Family Communication: Stop, Listen
and Talk with Teens about Sex
"Follow-up with speakers is critical to continued involvement."
"Parents want to talk with their teens about these issues—they just need better information."
-California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom
For more information:
Family Communication: Stop, Listen
and Talk with Teens about Sex
California Coalition for Reproductive Freedom
Jo Ann Madigan
Family Communication Program
1375 Sutter Street, Suite 406
San Francisco, CA 94109
E-mail: jomadigan@earthlink.net
Web site: http://www.familycommunication.org
Family Support Liaison Position
Organization: Josiah Bartlett Elementary School, Bartlett, NH
Original Target Audience: Parents and caregivers in the local rural community
Language: Materials and sessions in English
Bartlett, NH, a small rural town, convened a group of local individuals from various professions to strategically plan family involvement activities in the community. As a result, the community members decided to establish a partnership between the school
and community residents.
This goal resulted in the creation of a family support liaison position during the 2000 school year at the Josiah Bartlett Elementary School. The individual filling this position assumes a variety of roles, such as providing counseling and referrals to students
and parents; providing health education; writing a column in the school newsletter focusing on raising healthy children; and providing and hosting workshops such as a parent-child communication series titled Raising Sexually Healthy Adolescents. This four-session series is offered for two to three hours in the evening to parents
and caregivers. Topics include adolescent development, drugs, and talking with children about sexuality, gender, and sexual aggression. Feedback and support from town members have resulted in a recommendation to create a family support liaison position in
every school.
For more information:
Family Support Liaison Position
Josiah Bartlett Elementary School
Vicki Varrichione
P. O. Box 396
Bartlett, NH 03812
Phone: 603/374-2331
Fax: 603/374-1941
Web site: http://www.fen.com/nh/jbes
