Has everyone become comfy with teen pregnancy? (legal, party, education)
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We are living in an increasingly competitive society when our youth must see themselves, in part, in an international job market, competing with kids from all over the world.
Our jobs are uncertain. Tax revenues are down so social services are strained. There may be a time in which there is no public safety net available. It takes a long, long time to rear a kid to maturity. Lots of money that should be saved are spent.
We do not have the luxury, in my opinion, of moral judgments, but must just do what works to help our kids to have the best futures possible - to hope that they can keep their heads above water after we are gone.
I think you mean "Where should it begin?" It's never too early to teach our children how to protect themselves from the bad people in this world. That is why Obama approved of "age appropriate" sex education, which has nothing to do with showing little Johnny & Suzy how to do the wild thing. Only ignorant people would believe that. Give nursery school and kindergarten teachers, people who specialize in childhood development, some credit for using common sense!
Quote:
Originally Posted by runswithscissors
Well of course you're comfortable. Because you're also comfortable with abortion as contraception.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by zentropa
I have read many threads here and elsewhere basically shrugging off the issue of teens having unprotected sex and getting pregnant with such comments as, "all teens have sex" and "it happens all the time" as if there was nothing that could have prevented it.
As the parent of a 17 year old I can assure you that an unplanned teen pregnancy would be a HUGE deal (as it was when I was growing up). I was so fearful of the consequences I was a virgin until I was an adult, well after high school and had sex only after a trip to Planned Parenthood for birth control. My daughter is the same. She knows how to protect herself and what the consequences to her life will be if she doesn't. She knows about emergency contraception and where and how to get it.
Does this make us closer to the norm, or are we freaks?
I think teenage pregnancy is a major issue today and increases the teen's chances of poverty. I think the so-called "safe-sex" teaching actually makes this problem worse as it gives teenagers a false sense of security in using birth control methods that are not 100% proven to be effective. Yes, birth control decreases chances of pregnancy but it also increases sexual activity as it gives that false sense of security. I think we need to teach our teenagers to respect their bodies and to be selective in who we share them with. We need to tell our teens that it is ok to say no and to support their decisions.
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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[quote=zentropa;5095705]Not ALL kids have sex! Data show it's less than half of those in grades 9-12 and that number has gone DOWN in the past 10 years.
So...why do are some teens sexually active and some aren't? Opportunity? Fear of consequences? Morals? Can we not use these reasons and assert some of out own parental authority in ways that expect kids to abstain?
Or should we just EXPECT kids to break the rules, and just throw up our hands helplessly?[/quote]
This is the real issue here. Too many have just thrown their hands up in the air which create the expectations that teens will have sex instead of instilling in them the virtues of abstaining. In our society (especially the media), we give out the message that teenagers are horny animals who cannot help themselves so we should just make it "safer" for them to have sex. Why not teach them to respect their bodies and themselves by not having sex until they are married (or at least a committed relationship). Teens have tons of hormonal issues to deal with, they do not need the emotional baggage that premarital sex brings.
I was not abstinent as a teenager, but I was very mindful of contraception. That was my choice. I didn't see it as "breaking a rule," but rather, a part of growing up. Adults can preach abstinence, certainly. But you also need to assume, correctly, that many will not remain abstinent. And you'd want them to know their contraceptive options in that case, and have access to those options.
I think teenage pregnancy is a major issue today and increases the teen's chances of poverty. I think the so-called "safe-sex" teaching actually makes this problem worse as it gives teenagers a false sense of security in using birth control methods that are not 100% proven to be effective. Yes, birth control decreases chances of pregnancy but it also increases sexual activity as it gives that false sense of security. I think we need to teach our teenagers to respect their bodies and to be selective in who we share them with. We need to tell our teens that it is ok to say no and to support their decisions.
I agree to a point, but when two kids are alone with raging hormones, really, the last thing they want to do is say 'no'.
If it happens to be after a disagreement with an unreasonable mom and dad the probabilities increase that 'yes' will be the answer.
At a certain age most kids feel more kinship with their friends, who are going through what they are and who understand them, than with the parents who usually say 'no' to a whole lot of stuff.
If a teenaged girl has a dad who is busy working hard and relating to his adult world for her sake, but cannot take the time to just 'be' with her, and show how much he likes her company and how valuable she is to him, she often, at that age, looks for male acceptance elsewhere.
It is not about just lecturing or threatening them.
Many average American families lay the groundwork, much in innocence on their part, in their teen girls getting pregnant.
The least that can be done is to give them ALL the info possible. Yes, tell them to just say no, but tell them about birth control, too.
Maybe the most important thing is that they feel loved even through their teen years and that they have a future to look forward to of work and study and contributing to the world so their lives have a meaning other than having a family.
A girl who sees herself as a future astronaut, no matter what the parents may believe about this, might think by having sex with Tommy she will lessen her chances at seeing her dreams become reality. A girl with nothing to look forward to after high school might think that pushing Tommy into marrying her looks better than staying home with mom and dad.
Kids sometimes think funny.
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