Even though the National Day is now behind us, May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month and we hope that everyone concerned about teen pregnancy will do what they can to promote this year's fun and informative National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy online activities, including our popular National Day Quiz . Last year's National Day reached more that a half-million people around the country and with the help of our outstanding National Day partners, state and local organizations who are organizing National Day events all across the country, and teens themselves, we hope to reach even more people this year.
Why a National Day?
The extraordinary declines in teen pregnancy and childbearing over the past two decades have proven to cynics that progress can be made on tough issues. In fact, few social problems have improved quite as dramatically over the past 20 years as teen pregnancy.
The latest news on the teen pregnancy front has been incredibly positive. The U.S. teen pregnancy rate has declined 42% from its peak in 1990 and is now at a nearly 40-year low, according to recent data from the Guttmacher Institute.These new data track teen pregnancy through 2008. In addition to the overall national declines, teen pregnancy has also decreased dramatically among all racial and ethnic groups.
Despite this progress, it is still the case that nearly 3 in 10 girls get pregnant by age 20. This suggests that we all need to continue helping teens postpone their families until they are older, through school, and in stable, committed relationships.
We hope that—in some modest way—the National Day will help teens think carefully about sex, relationships, contraception, the possibility of pregnancy, and the lifelong challenges of being a parent.
About the National Day
On the National Day and throughout May, teens nationwide can visit go to StayTeen.org to participate in a number of online activities—including our popular National Day Quiz and new Stay Teen CRUSH! game—that deliver teen pregnancy prevention messages and challenge them to think carefully about what they might do “in the moment.” The message of the National Day is straightforward: Sex has consequences.
In 2011, more than a half-million people participated in the tenth annual National Day. Participants were able to take the quiz online, download a print version in English or Spanish, and play our interactive game. National Day Quiz discussion guides for parents and teens were also available and were downloaded thousands of times.
Making a Difference
Each year, we ask teens to tell us what they thought about the National Day Quiz in a post-quiz evaluation survey and many do. Among the findings from last year’s survey:
- 72% said the Quiz made them think about what they might do in such situations;
- 62% said some of the situations in the Quiz were things that they or their friends had faced;
- 61% said they’d talk to their friends about the situations described in the Quiz;
- 61% said the Quiz made the risks of sex and teen pregnancy seem more real to them;
- 52% said they’d encourage others to take the Quiz;
- 52% said the Quiz made them think about things they hadn’t thought about before;
- 46% said they’d learned something new from the Quiz about the consequences of sex; and
- 40% said they’d talk to their parents or other adults about the situations described in the Quiz.
For more results and to see what teen's themselves are saying about the National Day Quiz, please see our 2011 National Day Overview.
National Day Partnerships
The National Campaign works with a variety of partners to make the National Day a success year after year. Nearly 200 national organizations are partnering with The National Campaign to promote the 2012 National Day. National Day partners include a diverse group of media outlets, health sector leaders, education leaders, businesses, youth-serving groups, groups representing elected officials, fatherhood and male involvement groups, faith-based groups, and other prominent national organizations. Many of these groups promoted the National Day to their members, affiliates, customers, audiences, and contacts in ways The National Campaign could never have afforded or accomplished on its own. For a complete list of 2012 National Day Partners, visit our National Day Partnership page.
In addition, the National Day continues to be a remarkable organizing event for states and communities nationwide. To help these state and local promotional efforts, the National Campaign develops and distributes a variety of teen-friendly materials—such as National Day wristbands and pens—to help raise awareness of the National Day among teens and adult professionals who work with teens. For a state-by-state breakdown of this year's National Day activities, please visit our 2012 National Day Activities section.
Learn More
If have have any specific questions about the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, please contact Michael Rosst at 202-478-8507 or mrosst@thenc.org. To receive timely updates about the results of the 2012 National Day, please sign up for our National Day Notification Network.