Teen Pregnancy Statistics Continue To Rise

Despite sex education in schools and all the ads for birth control pills and condoms, teenage pregnancies continue to be a problem. In fact, teen pregnancy statistics are rising more than they ever have before. Is there a way to stop these teen pregnancy statistics from rising? Can we reverse our societal trend of babies having babies? We can but first we’re going to have to realize that teens are under a lot of pressure. Suddenly their bodies are changing, their hormones are raging and cliques and image become so very important. Sex, too, is important. It’s likely that every teen knows which one of his classmates have had sex and which ones haven’t. Some of these may be made up stories but sex is very much a discussion topic among many teens. Without education, however, these teens will continue to experiment with sex and the teen pregnancy statistics will continue to escalate out of control.

Peer Pressure

Many parents are afraid to talk to their teens about sex and birth control and about the rising trend in teen pregnancy statistics. They figure if they hold off on the talk as long as possible, there’s a chance the teen won’t even think about sex. You should know, however, that teens think about sex…a lot. With or without the talk, your teen is going to be exposed to sex via the TV, movies, magazines, books, and even their peers. In fact, the teen pregnancy statistics may be affected largely by peer pressure. If you’re not having sex in some teen social circles, you’re seen as weird or out of the ordinary. Therefore, teens have sex to appease their peers and to cross some sort of imaginary threshold that puts them into the ‘not a virgin anymore’ category. Unfortunately birth control is rarely a part of this teenage initiation practice.

Temptation

When two people, teenage or adult, are engaged in activities that lead up to sex, the desire and temptation become very great. If there is no birth control available, it can be very tempting to just go ahead without it. There’s something about sex on the brain that clouds rational and logical thinking. However, sometimes birth control is available and the people still have sex without it either because they think it feels better or they don’t want to kill the moment by preparing said birth control method.

Education

By examining the rise in teenage pregnancy statistics, and knowing that they are constantly exposed to peer pressure and temptation, having birth control available to them may not be enough to curb the rise in teen pregnancy. Education is the only way. As a society, we need to teach our teens that pregnancy is a very permanent thing. A baby is a huge commitment and not one to be taken lightly. By educating our teens and teaching them to make smart and wise decisions, hopefully we c

Teach Your Child That Teenage Pregnancies Are Life Changing Events

Any teen going through the public or private school system has likely been exposed in some way or another to sex education. During this sex education, the teens will hopefully learn about teen pregnancy facts. It’s unfortunate that teenage pregnancies are growing in occurrence. More teens are getting pregnant than at any other time in history. Teens are maturing faster, they’re reaching puberty faster, the media is saturated with sexual themes and that’s not even mentioning peer pressure and temptation that often leads to teens having sex. Teenage pregnancies do not have to happen, however. The teens of this era need to be educated. They need to be taught that teenage pregnancies are life changing events.

Teaching Your Teen

You can spend all day talking about birth control pills, condoms, abstinence and the birds in the bees until you’re blue in the face and it’s likely not going to do any good. Oh sure, your teen will learn a lot and that education can help him or her prevent teenage pregnancies; but will they actually use what you teach them? When it comes down to sex, sometimes the temptation is so great that birth control is the furthest thing from their minds. Even if birth control is available, it’s hard to stop to put on a condom or to think rationally that teenage pregnancies result from such unsafe behavior. Instead of talking about birth control and condoms and safe sex and abstinence, teach your child just how much his or her life will change if they happen to experience teenage pregnancy first hand.

Life On Hold

A woman who experiences teenage pregnancy will have to endure nine months of her body changing more than it already is due to puberty. Mood swings will be worse than they already are and that can make going to school very difficult. While other teens are out with their friends having fun, your teen will have to stay home to nurse her sore feet or back and she’ll have to spend time preparing for the baby’s arrival. Once the baby arrives because of the teenage pregnancy, your teen’s life is going to change drastically. Taking care of an infant is a full time job. It’s not like a dog where you can just stick it in a cage while you go to school or work. There’s day care, babysitting, feeding, waking up in the middle of the night and much more. Sure, it’s a very rewarding experience and childbirth is a miracle but teenage pregnancies essentially rob a young person of his or her youth.

Taking Responsibility

If the teen is male, teenage pregnancies will affect his life as well. He will have to take financial responsibility for the child. If he doesn’t, he can be taken to court and he can have his wages garnished.

If you put the teenage pregnancy issue to your teen like that, your teen will be less likely to get pregnant or get someone else pregnant.