Disclosure :: This post is sponsored by Woman’s Foundation.
Truth, Facts + Lies Program – Teaching Teens to Know Their Boundaries On and Off the Screen
We have all seen this before, and you might be guilty of it too. Picture this. A family sitting at a restaurant with a toddler around 3 or 4 years old and another child in their teenage years, both head deep in their mobile devices. The toddler is happily watching a Cocomelon YouTube video, while the teen is studying the latest Tik Tok viral dance moves to show their friends at school. Parents are also deep in conversation because it is the only non-chaotic hour of the day they can squeeze in an actual adult conversation.
With today’s growing usage of technology and social media, many parents worry about the effects it may have on their children. How young is too young to play with a phone? How much screen time is too much? Will it have an effect on my child’s development? Experts are suggesting to pay more attention to our teenagers’ use of technology because text messages and social media have become an essential part of their adolescence. According to a survey conducted by the Royal Society for Public Health, 14-24 year olds reported that “Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image and loneliness.” This is certainly frightening as more children are being exposed to a digital screen.
Woman’s Foundation’s goal is to provide programming to help teens navigate important social issues and make healthy decisions as they grow up. As a licensed provider of Truth, Facts + Lies, Woman’s Foundation is educating and teaching teens to know their boundaries on and off the screen. Session topics for this program include knowing one’s boundaries, stereotypes and first impressions, bullying/cyberbullying, controlling one’s digital footprint, online/social media safety, online solicitation and human trafficking, relationships and abuse, and the teenage brain and addiction to drugs, alcohol, and porn. This program will be held in-person at the Woman’s Foundation classroom located at 4630 Ambassador Caffery Building A Suite 100 Lafayette, LA 70508. Seats are limited and registration is required to attend. Middle and high schools in Acadiana can request this program to be held on-site.
Register for June 23-24. Register for July 21-22.
Why do we think ALL teens should attend this program?
- One in three teens in a dating relationship is being abused.
- 11% of teens and young adults report sending nude pictures.
- Human trafficking is the second-largest criminal industry in the world.
- Teens are sending over 3,300 text messages daily.
- Snapchat reports over three billion snaps being transmitted daily.
- The frontal cortex of the brain, the area responsible for logic and decision making is not fully developed until an individual is in their mid-twenties.
- Information learned during teen years is more easily retained than when learned in adult years.
- A recent study showed that schools implementing a social emotional learning curriculum show an eleven-percentile point increase in standardized test scores.
Truth, Facts + Lies is an evidence-based curriculum developed by B Curriculum, LLC out of Lake Charles, LA. All information has been vetted by teenagers themselves. This program provides information that teens are interested in hearing and learning more about.
Interested in our summer programs? Visit the Woman’s Foundation’s Eventbrite to view all of our upcoming programs HERE. For any questions about our classes or in-person safety protocols, please email [email protected].
It is the overall mission of Woman’s Foundation to promote the total health and well-being of women and their families. Woman’s Foundation has been the leading center of educational excellence by providing quality learning opportunities to women, youth, and healthcare professionals in Acadiana since 1980. More information about the impact we are making in the community can be found on our website at www.womansfoundation.org.
Sally Sabandith is the Marketing Manager for Woman’s Foundation. She remains active in One Acadiana, PRAL, the705, and Healthy Acadiana Coalition. She volunteers through United Way of Acadiana, and recently graduated from the flagship Leadership Lafayette program Class XXXIII and was named one of Acadiana’s 20 Under 40 Leaders in 2020. She has earned a Master’s of Business Administration through LSU Shreveport and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from UL Lafayette. Sally is passionate about living a balanced, healthy life. She enjoys being in the kitchen, swinging her new golf clubs, practicing hot yoga, binging true crime shows/podcasts, reading, snuggling with her fur babies Theo (cat) and Dash (dog), and spending quality time with her family and fiance Tim.
