The Secret Life of an American Teenager
Using a Television Show to Talk to Teens about Sex
Feb 23, 2009
The Secret Life of an American Teenager television series premiered in July of 2008 on the ABC Family network and quickly rose to the top of ABC Family’s most watched list. With a plot similar to the popular box office movie, Juno, The Secret Life of an American Teenager series dramatizes the conflicts surrounding a teen’s pregnancy.
Television Show Coincides with Teen Pregnancy Rate Increase
Prior to 2008, a television series had never featured a pregnant teen as the central character. The Secret Life of an American Teenager’s timely plot mirrors a rise in U.S. teen pregnancy rates. After following a steady fifteen-year decline between 1991 and 2005, the teen birth rate in the U.S. increased by 3% in 2006. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate among industrialized nations, twice the teen birth rates of Canada and Great Britain.
What Parents Might Want to Know about The Secret Life of an American Teenager
Before watching The Secret Life show with pre-teens and teens, or before allowing children to watch the show at all, parents may want to learn more about the television series. Parents can watch episodes of The Secret Life of an American Teenager on the ABC Family website.
The show’s creator, Brenda Hampton has originated past hit shows that deal with teen issues and teen values. Most famous for the creation of the television series 7th Heaven, Brenda Hampton describes The Secret Life of an American Teenager as “7th Heaven with sex”.
In a video interview on the ABC Family website, Brenda Hampton describes that the show aims to include characters that represent a variety of teen values and attitudes towards sex. Some teen and adult characters portray a Christian abstinence view on sex while other characters choose abstinence for different reasons. Still other characters choose to engage in sex either a little or a lot.
Rated TV14, The Secret Life scenes regularly include teens talking to teens about sex and parents talking to teens about sex. Because the main character of the television show, Amy is a pregnant teen, characters routinely discuss Amy’s pending decision about her unplanned pregnancy. At the point of Episode 17, viewers are still wondering if Amy will decide to raise the baby or give the baby up for adoption. The Secret Life scenes have also included two teen characters sitting up in bed while they briefly comment about “the sex” they engaged in minutes before. Although the teen characters were shown sitting in bed, the teens did not touch at all or engage in any sexual activity during the actual scene.
Using The Secret Life of an American Teenager Television Show to Talk to Teens About Sex
When it comes to talking to teens about sex and sexual activity, many parents feel extremely uncomfortable. According tot he National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, watching a show like The Secret Life of an American Teenager is a good way to start a conversation about sex, love and relationships. Both parents and teens will feel more at ease first discussing the sexual decisions made by a television show character rather than immediately discussing personal sexual decisions.
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has created a discussion guide about the show, The Secret Life of an American Teenager. The discussion guide includes a "stuff to talk about" section for teens as well as a section aimed at parents which covers conversation starters with teens and questions to help parents clarify parenting decisions regarding teens and teen behavior. According to the discussion guide for the pilot episode, teens say parents influence their decisions about sex more than any other source.
For more advice on talking to teens about sex, the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy website offers a free printable download sheet entitled "Tips for Talking with Teens". One of the tips on the list "How do I Talk to My Teen?" recommends to take advantage of teachable moments: a friend's pregnancy, a news article or a television show can help start a conversation.
Containing plenty of character conflicts surrounding the sexual decisions of teens, The Secret Life of an American Teenager can help open a dialogue between parents and teens. The "Tips for Talking with Teens" free download from the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy website recommends that parents listen more than they talk.
References:
National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Website
Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy website
ABC Family website
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