Our View: Talk it out: Deliver the message at home
Maybe it's in the water.
More likely: It's in the communication.
Watauga County's ranking of 90 out of 100 counties in its teen pregnancy rate — at 0.99 percent it's statistically the lowest in the state since 10 counties did not have enough teens/teen pregnancies for a reliable sample — is an accomplishment of which to be proud.
Credit goes to the hard work done by our educators targeting sexual awareness, and especially for a teen parenting program with solid results.
But more credit is due local parents and adult role models. A survey of more than 1,100 Watauga County high school students reveals that nearly 75 percent had discussed sex with either parents or other adults.
Awareness starts at home.
Yet it doesn't end there, and neither does our quest to reduce teen pregnancy in Watauga County and throughout North Carolina. Despite a significant decline in the teen pregnancy rate across the state, North Carolina yet boasts the 14th highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation. Much work remains to be done.
School and other programs can only do so much. More important are the lessons our children learn in their own homes — and most important is the lesson learned from this recent data. Communication works.
Parents: Talk it out at home.
More likely: It's in the communication.
Watauga County's ranking of 90 out of 100 counties in its teen pregnancy rate — at 0.99 percent it's statistically the lowest in the state since 10 counties did not have enough teens/teen pregnancies for a reliable sample — is an accomplishment of which to be proud.
Credit goes to the hard work done by our educators targeting sexual awareness, and especially for a teen parenting program with solid results.
But more credit is due local parents and adult role models. A survey of more than 1,100 Watauga County high school students reveals that nearly 75 percent had discussed sex with either parents or other adults.
Awareness starts at home.
Yet it doesn't end there, and neither does our quest to reduce teen pregnancy in Watauga County and throughout North Carolina. Despite a significant decline in the teen pregnancy rate across the state, North Carolina yet boasts the 14th highest teen pregnancy rate in the nation. Much work remains to be done.
School and other programs can only do so much. More important are the lessons our children learn in their own homes — and most important is the lesson learned from this recent data. Communication works.
Parents: Talk it out at home.