In Demasiado Joven, Latino teen parents share their own personal stories about parenthood. Each experience is unique but echoes those of many other te

Transcription

1 3 out of every 10 girls in the U.S. get pregnant at least once as teens. 52% of Latinas in the U.S. get pregnant as teens. Teen motherhood is one of the top reasons girls drop out of high school and most teen moms never graduate. 2 out of 3 Latina teen moms never get their high school diplomas. Babies born to teens are more likely to be premature, have health problems, suffer abuse, and grow up poor. 1 in 4 teen moms go on welfare within the first three years of having a baby. 8 out of 10 fathers don t marry the teen mothers of their babies. Children of teen mothers are more likely to become teen parents themselves. Teen pregnancy and parenthood cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $11 billion each year. The U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy and birth rates in the developed world. Latinas have the highest teen pregnancy and birth rates of any group in the U.S. Teen pregnancy is 100% preventable The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Not for theatrical release. For educational use only. For information on how to receive copies, please demasiadojoven@thenc.org or visit DVD AND GUIDE

2 In Demasiado Joven, Latino teen parents share their own personal stories about parenthood. Each experience is unique but echoes those of many other teen parents from every racial and ethnic background. Their compelling stories clearly demonstrate the link between teen pregnancy and other important issues such as poverty and school dropout. Of course, the seven young people in this film do not represent all Latino teen parents. They are, however, a group of teens with powerful stories to tell and whose experiences we hope will spark thought-provoking conversations among a wide variety of groups and encourage the community and its leaders to get involved in efforts to prevent teen pregnancy. Here are several ideas that parents, teachers, youth program leaders, and other adults who work with teens can use to begin addressing teen pregnancy in their community: Host a screening of Demasiado Joven with a group of parents and teens. After watching the film, lead a discussion with the group about their impressions and how the stories of the teens in the film might relate to stories of teens in your community. Assemble a group of teens, have them watch the film, and engage them in a discussion using the questions below. Use Demasiado Joven to start a discussion with a group of parents and talk about what they can do to make conversations with teens more helpful,

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4 informative, and timely. Ask them: did your parents ever talk with you about love, sex, and relationships? What would you teach your teens that is different from (or similar to) what your own parents taught you? Consider showing Demasiado Joven to a group of community leaders. Discuss how teen pregnancy and parenthood are connected to so many other social problems. Help them get involved in local prevention programs. Did any of the facts in the film surprise you? If so, which ones? Why? Why do you think so many teens in the United States get pregnant? Do some teens in your community actually want to get pregnant and become parents? Why? How might their thoughts about parenthood differ from the reality of being a teen parent? When Nancy, one of the teen moms in the film, said that her teacher was disappointed in her when she found out she was pregnant because she had always been such a good student, how did that make you feel? Can you imagine trying to finish high school while taking care of a baby? What would your life be like? How would it be different than it is now? How important are parents opinions about love, sex, and relationships? Do you think that teens would wait longer to have sex or use protection when they do have sex if they felt that they could talk more openly with their parents about these issues? What could parents do to make these

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6 conversations easier? What do some parents do that make these conversations harder? Can you talk with your parents about these topics? Most of the teen moms in this film talked about the fact that their babies fathers are not in their lives anymore. Did that surprise you? Do you think most teen fathers stay and help with their children? Why or why not? Miguel, the teen dad in the film, talked about the importance of guys taking a role in preventing teen pregnancy. How do the guys in your community define responsibility when it comes to sex? What advice would you have for teen guys when it comes to preventing pregnancy? What advice would you give other teens to help keep them from getting pregnant? What is the best advice you ever received about relationships, love, and sex? Where did it come from? Would you share this film with your family? With your friends? What is the most important thing you learned from the teen parents in this film? Tell us how you have used it and what kinds of conversations you ve started at demasiadojoven@thenc.org. To find out more about teen pregnancy and how to prevent it, please visit And, for materials specifically aimed at communicating with Latino youth and families, please visit our Latino Resource Center at

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8 Nearly 3 out of every 10 girls in the U.S. get pregnant at least once as teens. 44% of Latinas in the U.S. get pregnant as teens. Teen motherhood is one of the top reasons girls drop out of high school and most teen moms never graduate. 2 out of 3 Latina teen moms never get their high school diplomas. Babies born to teens are more likely to be premature, have health problems, suffer abuse, and grow up poor. 1 in 4 teen moms go on welfare within the first three years of having a baby. 8 out of 10 fathers don t marry the teen mothers of their babies. Children of teen mothers are more likely to become teen parents themselves. Teen pregnancy and parenthood cost U.S. taxpayers roughly $10 billion each year. The U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy and birth rates in the developed world. Latinas have the highest teen birth rates of any group in the U.S. Teen pregnancy is 100% preventable The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Not for theatrical release. For educational use only. For information on how to receive copies, please demasiadojoven@thenc.org or visit DVD AND GUIDE