'16 and NOT Pregnant'

Each year nearly a half million U.S. teens find themselves in the same boat as the young parents on "16 and Pregnant." How's that for an incentive to talk to your teen about safe sex? Here are some tips:

Make your values clear. Avoid a long sit-down lecture. But you want your teen to know what you believe: abstaining until marriage (if that's the case) or waiting as long as possible and always practicing safe sex (if that's the case). Teen pregnancy is related to self-esteem, lack of education, family, and culture, says Dr. Ben Siegel, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Boston University. In some families and cultures, early pregnancy is a tradition. Siegel wishes the TV shows would add a public service announcement about postponing sex and talking to a doctor about birth control. And he hopes producers know the power of the media. "They shouldn't glorify teen pregnancy," he says.

Don't be too scared to let your teens see the pregnancy shows. If they're interested, they'll view them at a friend's house anyway. Why not watch them together? "The cliche is it's a wonderful opportunity for parents to listen to what their teenagers are thinking," says psychiatrist Elizabeth Berger, author of Raising Kids with Character. "It's a true cliche." Ask your teen what she thinks of the show. If she says being a young mom looks like a a big life changer, say, "It sure would be." Will the TV programs inspire copycat behavior? "I don't think that these shows are a social force for promoting pregnancy," says Berger. "I would tell parents, 'Relax. what counts is your communication with the child.'"

Talk about sexually transmitted diseases. Inform kids—don't scare them. But they need to know about STD's. One in four teen girls in the United States has a sexually transmitted infection, according to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published in Pediatrics last December. And one in five girls who reported sleeping with only one partner in her lifetime already had an STD. On the gory detail-free TV shows, "you don't get herpes that hurts for a week," says pediatrician Michelle Barratt, professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at Houston and a former member of the AAP's committee on adolescence. In real life, her patients do.

Start discussing sex now. Don't wait. Six percent of high school students say they had vaginal intercourse before they turned 13, according to the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey. And alarmingly, according to the CDC's most recent annual statistics, 10- to 14-year-olds delivered 5,775 babies. To prep for your chats, read Everything You Never Wanted Your Kids to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid They'd Ask).

Bring up birth control. Tell teens that even though you would strongly prefer they not have sex, you want them to use a condom and other contraception if they do anyway. According to the CDC survey, 16 percent of sexually active teens reported that they or their partner had used birth control pills to prevent pregnancy; 61 percent said they or their partner had used a condom during last sexual intercourse. "If your 17-year-old decides they just have to have sex, provide birth control," says Barratt.

Encourage baby sitting. Even three hours on the job may be enough to convince your teen that an infant would mean she will spend her time changing diapers instead of listening to her iPod and texting. Pulling an all-nighter to study for an occasional exam is nothing compared to being on call 24/7.

Do you think "16 and Pregnant" (and young moms such as Bristol Palin and Jamie Lynn Spears) glamorize teen pregnancy? Or do they provide good "teachable moments"?