Growing Up Knowing

Founded as The Mississippi Campaign for Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Growing Up Knowing engages young people and their parents or caregivers in real conversations about sexual health and smart decision making throughout the state of Mississippi. We provide youth and their parents or caregivers accurate information and tools they need to stay safe from potential abusers and bullies.

What makes Growing Up Knowing different from comparable education programs is that we engage multiple generations – students, parents, caregivers, and grandparents – in every step of our education process. Parents are able to share their own family values and expectations. We believe when we work across generations, real change happens as we strengthen family communication and interaction.

Growing Up Knowing has three signature programs – The ‘Tween Talk: Comprehensive Sex Education for Middle School Families; My Body, My Boundaries for Elementary School Families; and My Body, My Boundaries for Early Childhood Families. We partner with community organizations, schools, and faith institutions to provide these programs to ensure healthier life decisions. We believe that children should GROW UP KNOWING the correct facts and be able to effectively communicate with their parents.

We follow leading teen pregnancy prevention research by starting personal safety and sexual education early and using evidenced-based curricula. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that as children age, parents or caregivers create an environment at home in which sexual topics can be discussed comfortably. Through building a child’s support network and engaging parents and caregivers in the education process, we prepare youth to make responsible choices to build better futures for themselves and our communities.