Finding the right abstinence curriculum is an important decision. Abstinence education curriculum are available for high school and middle school students in public or private schools, churches, mentoring organizations, pregnancy centers, and more. Consider these questions when choosing an abstinence curriculum and materials:
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What age are the students?
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What type of setting will you be teaching in (classroom, small group, one-on-one)?
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Do you want to encourage parents to be involved in talking with their teens?
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Do you want teens to have their own workbook?
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Most importantly, what information do you want teens to learn?
An abstinence curriculum should teach that choosing to save all sexual activity until marriage is the only 100% effective way to eliminate the risk of getting pregnant or contracting a sexually transmitted disease. In addition to physical consequences, an abstinence curriculum resources will help teens learn the emotional, financial, social, and spiritual consequences of sex outside of marriage.
Research shows that teens are more likely to choose abstinence the more the message is reinforced, especially by parents. Using an abstinence curriculum with a parent component can help parents learn to talk to their teens about sex.
Be sure to pick an abstinence education curriculum age appropriate to keep the students’ attention and help them better relate to the material. An abstinence program for middle school is likely to have many classroom demonstrations and interactive activities. High school programs have activities as well, but older teens are able to have more in depth discussions.