Teens and toddlers: an introduction

Diana Whitmore, projects director, Teens and Toddlers

If you are reading this then you are probably more than aware that Britain has the worst record on teenage pregnancy in Europe. And that high levels of teen pregnancy are indicative of a wider set of issues; issues of lack of stability, lack of hope and love, lack of self respect and a sense of not belonging experienced by many teenagers today.

The challenge that we are all facing up to is how to address these problems - in a way that delivers more than just a quick statistical fix. What we invest in today must do more than prevent unwanted pregnancies; it must start to tackle the issues that put teenagers on the path to pregnancy and to restore their self confidence and aspirations for the future.

The Teens and Toddlers programme has been developed to provide just such a practical, and effective, response. One that sees at risk teenage girls and boys working and playing with toddlers, exploring the experience with their peer group and adults and, in so doing, recognising the implications of parenthood and their roles and responsibilities within society.

The approach is simple. Teens and Toddlers take the teenagers on a 20 week journey of exploration built around weekly sessions with small children in a safe nursery environment. The nursery experience is developed through classroom support sessions focusing on child development, parenting skills, sexuality and relationships.

The end result? An improved sense of self, and of self-worth, empowers young people to take control of their lives, typically resulting in a significant reduction in the number of teens going on to become teen parents. In fact I am pleased to say that our latest retrospective study found that over six years Teens and Toddlers has had a pregnagncy rate of only 2.7%, far lower than the natonal rate of 4.1%; despite working with  only those young people most at risk of teenage pregnagncy.

In response to Local Authorites that want to mainstream the work of Teens and Toddlers COUI UK  hasdeveloped a facilitator training programme to ensure that once established, programmes can be sustained by our partners in the Local Authorities.

I would welcome the opportunity to talk with you about how we can support your work to tackle teen pregnancy, and to invite you to visit one of our programmes to experience first hand Teens and Toddlers in action.