It's no surprise that most teens explore romantic relationships. Romance is the premise of many teen movies, and is apparent in their everyday life through tweeting, chat rooms, text messaging and school gossip. Relationships that occur during the teen years are an opportunity for young adults to experience romance, learn about themselves and establish expectations for future relationships. So, how can a program effectively turn a hot topic into a teachable moment? This Tip Sheet describes key characteristics of successful youth programs. (Author abstract)
Studies show that increasing numbers of teens from 1975 to 1995 felt that marriage and family life were "extremely important" to them. In 2005, most teens continued to feel favorably about marriage. In fact, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 90 percent of Americans will marry someday. Relationships as depicted in popular books and movies are new and exciting to youth. Even so, many teens have experienced divorce in the family and are pessimistic about the possibility of having a stable, two-parent household or a lifelong marriage. Relationship education (RE) services are, therefore, a…
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This PowerPoint presentation provides information on the benefits of healthy marriages and father involvement for children and explains the goals of the federal Healthy Marriage initiative. It cites statistics that indicate 45% of children raised by divorced mothers and 69% raised by never-married mothers live in or near poverty. It discusses culturally competent strategies for providing services to couples, the challenges faced by fatherless children, and the common vision of the Healthy Marriages and Responsible Fatherhood initiatives. Slides then highlight the corporate strategy of the…