Wait Awhile

Calling all Teenage Girls: How to enjoy your Teens without Regret

At last an opportunity to slow down … just wait awhile. That’s what our new Wait Awhile initiative is all about: offering you, the teenage girl, some assistance to reclaim your sacred space.

After all, you’re only a teenager for a few short years, which whizz right on by under the influence of our fast-moving culture, in which immediate gratification rules the roost whether to do with sex, sexuality, tattoos, and all the rest.

Wait Awhile is about taking a deep breath and widening the gap between being a girl and a woman. It’s also about side-stepping undue pressures and expected behaviour that could result in risky conduct with lifelong consequences. It’s about reclaiming your space as a teenage girl, exercising what, we believe, are your rights:

• The right to grow up without undue pressure;

• The right to reject sexism and objectification;

• The right to align with your true values and live your best life;

• The right to live intentionally now, in order to set the stage for future.

How can we help?

Check out our new research which highlights the finding of two surveys that we commissioned to investigate the experiences of two specific age groups here in the United Kingdom: girls aged 13–16 years; and women over 50 years. Our research compared the similarities and/or differences between the two age groups growing up in different eras. The results will get you thinking about why it might be prudent to ‘wait awhile’ before leaping into experiences that you are likely to regret in later years.

- More than 4 in 10 teenage girls (13–16 year olds) have missed out on real-life experiences because of social media.

- 1 in 6 teenage girls have shared sexually explicit material about themselves.
- 15% of teenage girls have taken antidepressants to cope with stress and anxiety.
- Nearly 1 in 10 (8%) of 13–16 year olds have permanently changed their appearance by getting tattoos. Of those, over half (57%) said they regretted it.
- 6% of 13–16 year olds have permanently changed their appearance by getting cosmetic surgery for non-medical reasons, and over half of those said they regretted it.
- 1 in 6 (16%) of 13–16 year olds have gone further in a sexual relationship than they were comfortable with.

For the rest of the results, download our Executive Summary as well as our press release.

Join the conversation right here. Tell us about your experiences and how you have put the brakes on to reclaim your space, or tell us what you would like us to do to help.

Listen to our podcasts for hot tips, inspiration and great advice. Currently, we have 16 podcasts on subjects ranging from dealing with sex and sexuality to managing peer pressure and social media.

It’s all about you – the teenage girl.

For more information, contact us here.