how to avoid teenage pregnancy

The best way to avoid teenage pregnancy is communication. Parents and other adults who have open and honest communication with their teens, have greater influence on their behavior in any situation. If your teen can communicate with you without being judged or blamed, they are more likely to listen to you when YOU communicate with them. If you know your teen is sexually active or suspect they are, getting them birth control and teaching them to use it is the next best way to avoid teen pregnancy. For girls, a long-term form of birth control such as Depo-Provera or an IUD offers birth control that does not need to be remembered every day. If your teen daughter is on the pill, make sure she knows to take it at the same time EVERY DAY including weekends and days off from school. Let her know if she misses even one day, she has a greater risk of pregnancy. Both boys and girls should know how to get and properly use a condom if they are sexually active, even if on birth control to protect them from STIs or sexually transmitted infections. They also all need to know the only 100% effective form of birth control is to not have any form of sexual contact that involves the penis and vagina.