viii Medically accurate information on pregnancy, STDs and HIV, and family planning are presented in a context that does not normalize teen sexual activity. A New Message on Pregnancy Prevention and the Success Sequence Many of our pregnancy prevention messages focus on a young person’s self-interest in how a pregnancy would negatively affect him or her. Love Notes takes a different track. It encourages young people to step outside themselves and look more deeply at the consequences of unplanned pregnancy on children. By placing the child at center stage in the activities, participants see through the eyes of the child the consequences of sliding into sex and an unplanned pregnancy and the relationship turbulence that often accompanies it. Examining how an unplanned pregnancy can disadvantage a child may tap a more powerful and positive source of motivation to more consciously plan to delay sex until adulthood and marriage. In this context, the value of sexual delay and following the Success Sequence is reinforced. Teens learn that this sequence can greatly reduce one’s risk of poverty while also helping them reach their life goals. Youth learn that doing some of life’s big things in a particular sequence really does matter—finish your schooling, obtain employment, and be married before starting a family. In terms of positive youth development, one’s love life is never neutral it’s one of the central developmental tasks on the path to adulthood. A troubled love life, especially linked with risky sexual behaviors and unplanned pregnancies, can derail everything. Helping young males and females (whatever their orientation) assess their relationships, choose partners wisely, acquire the skills and insights for forming and maintaining healthy relationships (and later, healthy marriages if they choose to marry) can help them be successful. Encouraging deliberate planning for sexual delay and sexual risk avoidance can reduce some formidable barriers in their personal lives as young people work toward their goals in education, employment, marriage, and family. An Activity and Media-Based Approach Love Notes is packed with lively activities that use real-life relationship scenarios written by diverse teens and young adults that are LGBTQ inclusive. It incorporates popular Copyright 2018 Marline E. Pearson