Glorifying teen pregnancy

[Giggle Goose]

This is an opinion based on my personal experience and observations.

This might go under "politics," but there's a bigger issue here. One that makes me feel as though Bristol Palin's pregnancy DOES matter. It's an issue that transcends party lines and her mother's stance on sex ed and birth control.

Spoiled brats like Jamie Lynn Spears and Bristol Palin can AFFORD to get pregnant. I've also seen girls carry around their babies as if they're dolls. Their parents bear the burden of taking care of the grandchildren.

You can bet your ass a bunch of magazines are going to talk about her baby shower and whatnot; whether or not Sarah Palin pulls this election out of her ass. I'm sick of everyone oohing and aahing over young celebrities and their kids. Bringing a child into the world is not a TREND. I looked at Bristol and her bf and they looked freaking MISERABLE. But now that we see more and more pregnant teens on TV and in the media, I'm worried that being a teen mom is becoming "cute" or something.

Go ahead and flame me if you want; but I'm sick of the media making it look like having a baby when you ARE one is a piece of cake.

[Rapscallion]

Becoming? It's already happened over here, sad to say. Mind you, it used to be a guaranteed way to get up the housing ladder for a council house (not these days, but...).

Rapscallion

[The Shadow]

I'm worried that being a teen mom is becoming "cute" or something.

I hear you. There was a time when a girl got pregnant out of wedlock, she was ostracized by the community and considered a shame and disgrace to her family. I'm glad we live in more enlightened times those days are gone (for the most part), but I can't help but wonder if the pendulum might be swinging too far in the other direction.

I remember I posted a link to this article on a previous incarnation of CS.

http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.support.childfree/msg/c5c6efd1ee825d9d?hl=en

If I recall correctly, most people were as pissed off about this as I was.

"Good choices" my ass. :rolleyes:

[AFPheonix]

I fail to see what was so enraging about your article, Shadow. Despite making a mistake, the girl decided to make good choices after and is doing reasonably well. We aren't given her actual GPA, and we aren't told what classes she's taking either. However, she's not flunking out and she's trying pretty hard to better herself.

Teen birth rates have actually been dropping since 91 according to Web MD. They did go up slightly between 2005 and 2006, but that could have been a data anomaly. I didn't find any data for 2007 in my cursory search.

I suspect showing live birth videos in health class will scare a lot of girls who want a baby off that idea for awhile.

[Lace Neil Singer]

My main annoyance is all the hand outs these girls get, just for popping out a baby, and the way that some of them act as tho they've done something clever. A few months back, there was a news excerpt that showed a single mum aged 18 who was given oodles of money in benefits as well as a council house. She spent around £40 on beer and smokes a week; about the first thing she did on receiving her money was to go out and buy enough beer and smokes to see her thru the week. So, before her child sees any of that money, she's spending £40 on herself.

Whereas there might be a SINKy; Single Income No Kids, who's struggling to pay rent and bills and living hand to mouth who isn't entitled to half what this jobless single mother gets. It's like she's being rewarded for being careless enough to fall pregnant as a teenager and the other person is punished for choosing to not have kids and work. We don't want to go back to the old days and punish girls for falling pregnant, but we don't need either to go to the other extreme and reward them.

[AdminAssistant]

Whereas there might be a SINKy; Single Income No Kids, who's struggling to pay rent and bills and living hand to mouth who isn't entitled to half what this jobless single mother gets.

SINKy - hm, I like it! And, I am one.

Filing taxes always makes my blood boil, because I don't qualify for -ANY- breaks. Because I have not spawned and I'm not married. Very frustrating.

[Boozy]

I'm not defending the US tax system (mostly because I'm not familiar with it) but why would you expect to get tax breaks if you don't have deductions?

[Greenday]

Because other people, who have done nothing to get themselves into bad situations, are getting next to no help, but these girls who go out just to get pregnant (whether they can afford a kid or not) are getting tons of help for doing something stupid.

[AdminAssistant]

I'm not defending the US tax system (mostly because I'm not familiar with it) but why would you expect to get tax breaks if you don't have deductions?

There are things like the Education Tax Credit (? can't remember), that I didn't qualify for because I was too young AND didn't have kids. Now that I'm 25, I may qualify.

It's just frustrating to look down the list and say, 'nope, nope'. Luckily, I haven't reached the income level of paying taxes yet, but the past two years I've gotten very little back.

[AFPheonix]

Because other people, who have done nothing to get themselves into bad situations, are getting next to no help, but these girls who go out just to get pregnant (whether they can afford a kid or not) are getting tons of help for doing something stupid.

Getting married, going to school, operating your own business and donating to charitable organizations are bad situations?

[Sableonblonde]

Whereas there might be a SINKy; Single Income No Kids, who's struggling to pay rent and bills and living hand to mouth who isn't entitled to half what this jobless single mother gets. It's like she's being rewarded for being careless enough to fall pregnant as a teenager and the other person is punished for choosing to not have kids and work.

I agree...nothing infuriates me more. And I see it a lot where I work, too...people who cannot even support themselves, can't support the children they do have...and they are pregnant again. I seriously believe there should be no government assistance given to someone who gets pregnant and can't afford to support the child. You're pregnant? Don't have any way to support the baby? Then DON'T HAVE IT.

I've been just as impulsive and irresponsible as the next young person. I got knocked up twice in my early twenties. And both times I had an abortion. My mom even said to me, upon finding out I was pregnant - "Ooh, now you can get on government assistance!" Like it was some kind of goal. No thanks.

I don't have THAT much room to bitch, because even though I work seven days a week and don't make all that much, I have absolutely zero bills or expenses beyond the occassional coffee or smoothie I treat myself too. But my situation is a give and take, not just a taking. Seriously, this crap has to stop where people get government assistance for having children. Personal responsibility needs to be learned in a BIIIIIIIGGGGGGG way.

[Greenday]

Getting married, going to school, operating your own business and donating to charitable organizations are bad situations?

Getting knocked up just so you can live off the state is bad.

[jedimaster91]

I'm a big advocate of adoption over abortion. Without getting into the abortion debate, there are plenty of couples who want children but can't have them and I believe adoption to be a good route for knocked-up kids. The kids can go to college and better their lives, and loving familes get the opportunity to raise a baby when they might not have been able to otherwise.

I had a few friends get pregnant in their teens, and it really breaks my heart when I think about the life the kids have. I wanted to strangle something when the media glorified Jamie Lynn's pregnancy and now Bristol Palin's. While Palin's pregnancy should be kept between the family, it is disheartening to see family values going down the drain. It's really not fair to the innocent babies that end up with the short end of the stick because their mothers can't/won't care for them.

[the_std]

I really don't think that family values, especially in regards to teen pregnancy, are going down the drain. They're changing, yes, and some aspects may be for the worse, but "family values" was never one set of values, adhered to for thousands of years without any variation whatsoever. Yes, to some teenaged girls, being a mom is the cool thing to do, whether or not they can support the baby. But at least they can come out and say, "yes, I'm pregnant" and get help with it, rather than being hidden away in the back room of the house for nine or more months. Those babies might not be getting the greatest start to life, but having a kid can change a lot of people very quickly. If the parent is going to be a truly horrible parent (abusive, neglectful, etcetera), they will most likely be that horrible no matter when they have the child, because it's a part of their personality, rather than the situation they're put in.

Society is in a constant state of flux, and everything changes, all of the time. Just because things aren't the same now as they were X number of years ago, doesn't mean they're inherently bad for changing.

[AFPheonix]

Getting knocked up just so you can live off the state is bad.

And just what percentage of pregnancies do you chalk up to that reason for procreating?

[anriana]

~100 years ago "family values" was having two or three children before you reached eighteen.

[Greenday]

And just what percentage of pregnancies do you chalk up to that reason for procreating?

Not ridiculously high, but it's happening more and more these days.

[AFPheonix]

Is it? Or are you just extrapolating from a few choice headlines in gossip magazines?

[Greenday]

I don't read gossip magazines. And once again, I'm not saying it's a high percentage of woman who get pregnant for that reason, it's probably pretty low. But it still happens and I have a problem with that.

[powerboy]

I am with Greenday on this. There is lot of woman and families for that matter that does just that.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Sure attitudes regarding unwed mothers is changing. In the case of Palin I have no problems with this and am very thankful. Remember that a few decades ago that woman would have been "cast out" by society and would have been in a word...screwed. No job prospects, no chances to enter a college (even if they had the money so to do) and left as a burden of the taxpayers in a shelter somewhere.

I still agree that it's something that needs to be addressed and that it shouldn't happen unless one is ready to have children emotionally, and financially...but at least people like Palin who have the support of family still has a chance to make something of themselves and not be a drag on society.

40 years ago they didn't even have a whelks chance in a supernova. Hell 40 years ago being a bastard still screwed you up. Yes, the one who is totally blameless in this game was the one who caught as much if not more hell than the unwed mother.

Attitudes change. Sometimes for the good, sometimes for the worse. This time the attitude needs to reflect the situation and not be a blanket attitude.

M

[Boozy]

I am with Greenday on this. There is lot of woman and families for that matter that does just that.

The whole thing sounds like a strawman to me. It's likely that only a vanishingly small percentage of women get pregnant just to live off the state, but if the media hears about one, it's all over the news. Just more of that outrage porn that people eat up.

Of course there are more than a few single mothers who require welfare or food stamps to survive and feed their kids, but it would be wrong to say that this is the reason they got pregnant in the first place. Being a single mom on state assistance doesn't sound like hitting the jackpot to me.

[Sableonblonde]

I of course have no way of saying what percentage of young women get pregnant in order to live of off state assistance, but the fact is that a goodly number have no problem taking advantage of it, which is the same thing. "Oh look, I'm knocked up, I can't possibly support a baby - ooh, I'll just go on government assistance. I'll be taken care of. And then when I'm on assistance and not working or doing anything productive, I'll get knocked up AGAIN. And then maybe a third time! And the government will pay for me to go to school, give me a brand new laptop, pay for an apartment..." Seriously, I see this every day where I work. Every day.

[blas87]

My problem with single mothers living in section 8, on welfare and foodstamps and WIC........with DIGITAL CABLE and going to school for free.

Yes. You heard me. My ex roomate's gf was a single mother living in an apartment that was government subsidized, receiving a welfare check and foodstamps...yet she had DIGITAL CABLE.

What's wrong with this picture? I'm not saying just because you're poor you shouldn't have TV...but if I work 40 hours a week and am only supporting myself with my income and I cannot afford it, they shouldn't be able to have it either. Hell, if the landlord didn't provide free cable (not digital) where I live, I would ONLY have the free channels, which there are only like 6 of.

And don't get me started on college. Sure, no girl should be punished for getting knocked up and no woman should feel she can't go to college just because she has a baby....but if I am denied financial aid and I am dirt poor, NO children, full time job, TOTAL independence from parents......why should a single mother get a free ride through college just because she popped out a kid? Here I am working my ASS off and I cannot afford to go to school or I have to pick from school or work (because I can't do both, I HAVE to work full time, I cannot move back home to mom and dad's, full time work is the ONLY sure option)......and I can't even get anywhere.

It's. Not. Fair.

Sorry for the rant.

[AFPheonix]

I of course have no way of saying what percentage of young women get pregnant in order to live of off state assistance, but the fact is that a goodly number have no problem taking advantage of it, which is the same thing. "Oh look, I'm knocked up, I can't possibly support a baby - ooh, I'll just go on government assistance. I'll be taken care of. And then when I'm on assistance and not working or doing anything productive, I'll get knocked up AGAIN. And then maybe a third time! And the government will pay for me to go to school, give me a brand new laptop, pay for an apartment..." Seriously, I see this every day where I work. Every day.

For starters, what percentage? No one has yet quoted me this magic percentage of girls who are getting pregnant just to get foodstamps or health care that doesn't cover more than the basics.
Second of all, heaven forbid that they should apply to a program that's there specifically to help people like them. Heaven forbid that they should try to get food on the table and healthcare for their kids, despite the fact that statistically they aren't qualified for much more than a minimum wage job, which most of us know, those paychecks don't stretch very far.
In fact, I would submit that a "goodly percentage" of these girls are working 2 full time jobs, rather than sitting about eating bon-bons and shooting out babies like gatlings like some of you would like to think. Again, statistically, and you can all google this quite easily, teen pregnancy rates have been falling since the early 90's. They're doing better than we did.

Blas, there are multiple scholarships out there. Fill out a FAFSA, that will get you an idea what you can get for public aid, but there's a wealth of private money out there. Don't let anyone hold you back if you want to go to school. I would imagine that your employer probably has some programs available. Public money may be harder to come by these days simply because too many students are defaulting and causing lenders to tighten their belts, unfortunately.

Are there people who abuse the systems in place? Yes, of course, we've all seen them. There's a few turds that come through my pharmacy. But they are a minority compared to the many more who have gotten the aid they need who actually need it, and the people who are still in line to receive it who need it as well. Having tried to help my BIL to get on public health coverage and failed opened my eyes as to how difficult it really is. Seriously, my state is resorting to a lottery system now, there's that many people applying now because they need help and there's none to be had in the private sector.

[AdminAssistant]

And don't get me started on college.

Ugh, me either. I hate the people who say, "Everyone has the right to a college education". Bullshit. Everyone has the right to EARN a college education. Don't have the grade point, don't like to go to class? Buh-bye. I had to fight the system all the way through my undergraduate to keep my academic scholarship (they set up a lot of traps to get people to lose it). I had to take honors classes every semester, keep a 3.5 grade point, graduate in 4 years, and write a thesis. (Atheletes, who got a lot more money than I did, only had to keep a 2.0. :( ) The very year I graduated, they reduced the scholarship I had (the top academic scholarship) and made it competitive. Before, you could get that scholarship with a 30 on the ACT.

It's so frustrating. I've worked my ass off for everything I have. I understand the need for social safety nets, but our welfare system is seriously broken.

[Lace Neil Singer]

All I can comment on is what I personally have seen; in other words, young single mums coming to the supermarket and buying stuff with their vouchers and milk tokens (which as well as formula and milk, you can buy veg and fruit, too) with a multipack of fags costing at least £50 in their trolley, along with a couple of crates of beer. They're also the ones who blab constantly into expensive mobile phones; razrs and Blackberries and plug into top of the rage ipods while their spawn wreak havok.

Nope, they're not the majority; but there's enough of them to excite comment. And I'm sure that the single mums who work their butts off to support themselves and their kids are just as irritated by them as the childfree are.

Also; interesting link here: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/teenage-mothers-see-pregnancy-as-a-career-move-408186.html

[Sableonblonde]

In fact, I would submit that a "goodly percentage" of these girls are working 2 full time jobs, rather than sitting about eating bon-bons and shooting out babies like gatlings like some of you would like to think.

I will readily admit that it just seems like a high number to me because I see it every day, I work around it. I know these women don't have jobs, and I don't understand why. And there are the women with a boatload of kids who aren't working but going to school. Excuse me, but if you have a bunch of kids then your priority should be WORKING right NOW. Trust me, no one staying at the shelter I work in has two full-time jobs. But they manage to make it to all the field trips the shelter sponsors - amusement parks, baseball games, swimming pools, zoo, museums - just fine.

Second of all, heaven forbid that they should apply to a program that's there specifically to help people like them. Heaven forbid that they should try to get food on the table and healthcare for their kids, despite the fact that statistically they aren't qualified for much more than a minimum wage job, which most of us know, those paychecks don't stretch very far.


If you only have a minimum wage job and are struggling to support yourself then you shouldn't be HAVING a kid. I believe that children are a luxury, not a right. I know that a lot of jobs out there pay very low, and I've never made much more than a little over minimum wage myself because the industry I love working in isn't high paying. There is a disturbing lack of personal responsibility in the world that just keeps getting worse. You have these kids coming into the world who become the responsibility of innocent taxpayers, as neither the mother or father is doing anything to support them. There shouldn't BE any system in place for people who have kids but can't support them. If people can't afford kids then they shouldn't be having them.

[AFPheonix]

Yes. All children are planned for. Oh wait, they're not.

Oh, well then all these women should just stop having sex, those hussies! What percentage of the women in the shelters came from controlling or abusive relationships in which their choice was have sex or "run into a door"?

I dislike strongly that you may see people who may or may not be abusing the system, and you decide to paint a whole lot of people with that same brush.

Lace, I can't speak for the UK's pregnancy rates, I've only ever set foot there briefly in an airport. Our support systems are much different and I'm more familiar with them than yours. However, still basing an opinion based on seeing a few women with a few kids and an expensive cell is still wrong. If your system is broken, then advocate for change in it.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I posted the link as an interesting link, just to show you that yes, there are girls who see having babies as a career choice and no, it's not a strawman. If you read my entire post, you'd see that my vitroil (sp?) is towards those who ABUSE the system, so getting overly defensive is kind of a waste of time, and just makes it seem as tho you're championing the system abusers. Just saying.

[Greenday]

Oh, well then all these women should just stop having sex, those hussies! What percentage of the women in the shelters came from controlling or abusive relationships in which their choice was have sex or "run into a door"?

Oh, come on. You can't say they are all the result of abusive or controlling relationships. Most of these "accidents" are from two people wanting to get it on and not using birth control.

My rule of thumb: If you can't afford birth control, you obviously can't afford a kid, so you better not be having sex because you knew what you were getting yourself into so I shouldn't have to pay for it.

[AFPheonix]

No, I also noted that there are abusers. I'm objecting to people who seize on a fairly small percentage (a number no one can seem to enumerate for me for the US) of girls who may be abusing the system, and are happy to paint any and all mothers on state aid with it. It's misogynist.

Like I said before, I can't speak to the UK system. I'm not familiar with it. I CAN speak to the US system.

I will say that I am willing to put up with a few system abusers if that means that more girls who need the help get it instead of falling through the cracks, continuing the cycle they come from. I've seen plenty of those, too.

[AFPheonix]

Oh, come on. You can't say they are all the result of abusive or controlling relationships. Most of these "accidents" are from two people wanting to get it on and not using birth control.

My rule of thumb: If you can't afford birth control, you obviously can't afford a kid, so you better not be having sex because you knew what you were getting yourself into so I shouldn't have to pay for it.

Do show me where I said all of them? I asked what percentage?
I suspect it's higher than you think. Keep in mind these are women in a shelter.

[Seshat]

I believe that people (NOT women, both sexes) who cannot afford a child should be taking precautions.

Not that they can't have sex, but that those who are need to be using contraception & willing to give the child up for adoption; have an abortion (ie, both partners need to have discussed it & have the money); &/or avoid seminal fluid in proximity with the female groin.

Note: this is my opinion. Your (plural) life is not my life.

However, life causes unexpected things to happen. In the eighteen-to-twenty-plus years a parent is responsible for his/her child, a lot can change. Disability & illness within the family (child, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle) can put a huge strain on a family's finances & ability to cope. Downturns in the economy can make jobs difficult to get. Perfectly willing and productive citizens can need help for reasons beyond their control.
For this reason, I support the welfare system.

Are there people who abuse it? Of course. Is this reason to dismantle it? Not in my opinion.

And even if there are people who have children for the specific purpose of ripping off the welfare system - what are you going to do with the children, if you don't pay their families enough money to support them? Should the child starve because their parent is a greedy lazy <insert epithet here>?

[Lace Neil Singer]

Maybe instead of money being given to these people, they could be given vouchers for baby items. For example, here you can get milk tokens, which can also be used to buy formula, fruit and vegetables; and also nappy vouchers, which give mothers £1 or £2 off nappies. That would ensure that the aid given to parents who claim the benefit is solely going to be spent on things for the children, not instead on cigarettes, alcohol, designer clothes etc.

[AFPheonix]

Maybe instead of money being given to these people, they could be given vouchers for baby items. For example, here you can get milk tokens, which can also be used to buy formula, fruit and vegetables; and also nappy vouchers, which give mothers £1 or £2 off nappies. That would ensure that the aid given to parents who claim the benefit is solely going to be spent on things for the children, not instead on cigarettes, alcohol, designer clothes etc.

Behold! (http://www.fns.usda.gov/wic/) (I have no idea if UK has anything like this or not)

[Lace Neil Singer]

Nope; what we have, I already listed. The benefits given out are mostly in the form of government handouts which means that the percentage of the population who chose not to spawn, miss out.

[Ree]

As the mother of a young girl who got "knocked up", I want to say that she does not accept government assistance of any kind, other than the Child Tax Credit given to all parents.
In fact, she didn't even collect her full maternity benefits, returning to work after only 2 months off. Right now, she is working 2 jobs.

As much as I love my daughter, I can safely say that, if she didn't live with me and have all the emotional and physical support that I give her, there is no way that she could do it, though.

If she was to decide to go back to school and finish her college courses, going on public assistance to do so, I would still support her 100%.

Her father paid into the system all his working life and never collected. I have paid in all my working life and I have never collected.

She contributes through her payroll deductions as well.

The government has these programs, so she might as well use them. She is as entitled to them as the next person.

That's not exactly the topic here, though.

I realize she is the exception rather than the rule, but I use her case to point out that there are some girls out there who are young/teen moms, but are not just out to scam from society and sit on their ass.

Not all of them set out to get pregnant. Sometimes it does happen despite best efforts to prevent it.

While I see nothing wrong with giving a pat on the back to a young mom who manages to balance it out and get an education while continuing to properly care for her child, I do think teen pregnancy is glorified. Everywhere one looks in movies and sitcoms, as well as dramas, we see young girls pregnant or having babies, and every second celebrity is sporting a "baby bump" and raising kids as a single mom.

All of my daughter's friends are either pregnant or have had children in the past 2 years.
Last night, I think she got a bit ticked with me, because there was a phone message from a girl, and when I relayed it to her, she described the girl as the girlfriend of her friend's stepbrother, "She's 18 and pregnant."
I said, "Well, that's a given, now isn't it?"

The father of my granddaughter currently has 2 other children. Actually, only one of them is his biological child, as DNA testing pointed out. His current girlfriend just had a baby, and it is not his either, but there was another DNA test done to prove that.

She has another friend who has fathered 3 children with different girls.
Another friend has 2 children by different fathers.

It boggles my mind.

I told my daughter that, by the time my granddaughter gets to high school, she won't be able to date anyone, because they will all be related.

Blaming all this teen pregnancy on values in the home isn't exactly the answer, either. The thing is, my daughter also had to have DNA testing done to find out who the father was. That floored me. That is not the way she was raised.

I think society in general has just developed a much more casual attitude about sex. It has now become acceptable that people are usually sleeping together either by the end of the evening on a first date, or within the first couple of dates.

Young girls see having a baby as a novelty and having something to love. They don't see the hard work that comes with it.

This was a message my 19 year old nephew left me on Facebook regarding a message that one of my daughter's friends left on her page. (She was another single mom who said, "hey how r u i have a baby now 2 lol she is 4 months old it is lees lol i am single again i named her destini but ya how r things goin with u?")

Did you see that message? I blame the schools :-)

Not to sound insensitive but I think we need to find this prophylactic company have them do a runthrough of the factory or something. They all using the same brand or something? Kay .. I'm done.

Maybe.... Maybe clip a coupon next time ... Spring for the name brand quality.

To be fair I joke because I only hope these babies get the love and care they need. And its maddening to see when they don't. But that girl didn't even try to have a story just very translucent very blunt "oh ya I have one too... Oh ya I bought the same sweater with the matching F@¿¡£..."

Anyway, I don't really know what the answer is. I do know it's wrong to just generalize about teen moms, though, and assume they are only in it for the government handouts and benefits they can get. Some may be, but not all are.

I think I had a point in there somewhere....:p

[Boozy]

Blaming all this teen pregnancy on values in the home isn't exactly the answer, either. The thing is, my daughter also had to have DNA testing done to find out who the father was. That floored me. That is not the way she was raised.

For the last ten years, virtually every study on these issues have presented some rather convincing and alarming evidence: That teenagers are far more influenced by the media and their peer groups than their parents. And this applies to everyone, whether they be the product of good and involved parents or neglectful ones.

Runaway teen pregnancy rates are basically the product of a tipping point in some areas. The more teen pregnancies rise in a small town, the more likely it is that they will continue to rise as teen pregnancy becomes normalized among peer groups.

[Greenday]

So, what options do we actually have for solving the dramatic increase in teen pregnancy? I mean, it's increased so much that genetically, female bodies are developing faster and faster to keep up with this trend of having kids at such a young age.

[AdminAssistant]

I mean, it's increased so much that genetically, female bodies are developing faster and faster to keep up with this trend of having kids at such a young age.

Actually, "back in the day" women were having children much younger than they typically do today. During the Renaissance, women were typically married off at 14, 15, 16 years of age to 20-30 year old men and were expected to start popping out kids right away.

It makes sense, then the life expectancy wasn't what it is today, so people needed to have kids at a younger age.

[Greenday]

Yea, but it's happening in girls that young and sometimes younger today. I'm just saying, women are evolving to have the ability to reproduce earlier. I'm sure the same thing happened when it was normal for women to be married off young too.

[Sylvia727]

Do you have a link to any scientific studies? I hadn't heard anything about that before. Just to put us all on the same page.

[anriana]

My rule of thumb: If you can't afford birth control, you obviously can't afford a kid, so you better not be having sex because you knew what you were getting yourself into so I shouldn't have to pay for it.

Thanks to abstinence only sex ed, there are plenty of sexually active people who don't understand how pregnancy actually works. Yes, everyone understands the basics, but how many people think pulling out is effective contraceptive? Or that women can't get pregnant during their period? Or that it's impossible to get pregnant from anything other than p-in-v contact?


So, what options do we actually have for solving the dramatic increase in teen pregnancy? I mean, it's increased so much that genetically, female bodies are developing faster and faster to keep up with this trend of having kids at such a young age.

Uh, what? American teenage pregnancy has been on the rise for two whole years and now female bodies are genetically changing to keep up with the trend, and research proves this isn't caused by anything else such as the high number of chemicals in the environment or the growth hormones in meat? I'd be very interested in seeing this reserach.

[Greenday]

I'm just going by what I was taught in my genetics class. But when you think about how evolution works, it sounds like a pretty damn good theory.

[anriana]

I'm just going by what I was taught in my genetics class. But when you think about how evolution works, it sounds like a pretty damn good theory.

So you have no way of actually sharing this data?

[Greenday]

So you have no way of actually sharing this data?

I didn't at the time. Most of my time today has been spent in class or studying for a test.

Googled "Teen Pregnancy Evolution"

First link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1292228.stm

I really don't have time to do much more research into it right now. I have to do well on this test tomorrow morning.

[Ljt09863]

I am speaking as a mother of 19 month old baby. i just turned 22. i got pregnant when i was 19. i had my son when i was 20. while im engaged, the state views me as a single mother because i am not married.

no, i did not get pregnant because i wanted to live off the state. things were actually going pretty well for us when we first found out we were having a baby. we went out, and bought a new car for me to drive around in with the baby for doc appts and such. we were making plans, looking for places to live. when i was 7 months pregnant, my fiance lost his job. no matter when he did, job fairs, temp agencies, interview after interview, my fiancee didn't get a job until our son was 1 month old.

for 2 and 1/2 months, we lived off my income alone. i had to take my maternity leave an extra two weeks before my due date, because i was swelling horribly. then i had to jump through alot of hoops before i could get any type of pay for my leave. we had no choice but to get some help from the state.,

as of right now, i have no food stamps. we also qualify for WIC still, but i do not use it. i stopped when my son turned one, and no longer needed formula.

i think that there are some families who choose to live off the state. but i think that there are also alot more, who just fell on hard times.

about the whole college thing. i am trying to get aid to go to college, because i do want a better life for me and my child. but as it as, i can't afford anything for college myself. and my fiance is working two jobs. for the time that i am at work, and he is at work, we ahve to pay a babysitter. if i go to college, thats more time i have to pay a babysitter for. plus my car bills, and my phone bill, and all the same bills everybody else has. but im also buying food for three, im taking my son to doctors appt that has copays, and sometimes tests that aren't covered under my inusrance, that i have to pay for.

when it gets colder, i have to buy my son new clothes, since what he wore last year, is way too small. i do have alot of expenses on top of my regular bills.

does this make me more deserving that anybody else? no, it doesn't. but, it makes it easier for me, so i don't have to depend on the state later on in life. i don't want to depend on the state. but as it is, i can't afford to better myself.

[SorryIsGoodEnough]

I turned 20 almost exactly a month AFTER having my daughter.

I get financial aid, but not much. My loans are paying for most of my schooling as of this quarter.

I pay rent, but not much. About 1/8th of what anyone else would pay. I do have cable and internet. The internet is for schoolwork, and the cable is only ten dollars more a month. So yeah, I get digital cable.

I'm trying to get another job, but the thing is: Because here in America, we don't have universal healthcare (a whole 'nother topic right?) if I don't get an AWESOME job, I won't have healthcare handed to me.

Unless I make LESS than a certain amount a month. The county gives me around $400 a month for food, rent, utilities, and anything else I might need. That's it. I get no child support.

I have to make less than $1000 a month from OTHER sources of income to qualify for healthcare.


Did I mention I'm recovering from CERVICAL CANCER? Yeah. So I use the resources offered to me because I'm a single mom. So what? For me, it's a matter of life and death.



That said, I am worried about teen pregnancy rates. I don't think that with the way the economy here in the US is going, we have the ability to care for thousands more teenagers on government aid. And then NOBODY will receive assistance, NOBODY will get a second shot at an education, and EVERYBODY will lose out because there will be thousands of women and children back onto the streets.

[Flyndaran]

I think we can all agree that no matter what abuses of the systems may occur, actual help for those in need is woefully inadequate here in the good ole U.S.A.

I have crippling anxiety and social phobia that makes me need to psyche myself up to so much as take out the trash. I take enough paroxitine and clonazepam to kill a horse, and that barely keeps me from hiding in my bedroom closet at times. I have never been able to hold a job for more than three days in my 34 years of life. I've had attacks that sent me to the hospital and made me lose significant amounts of weight through sheer metabolic overdrive.

Oregon SSI says that I am not in need of financial help. They actually count what my mother gives me to keep me off the street as income!

Everyone screws up. Blaming people after the fact doesn't help anyone. Kids with kids either need financial aid or social services will need to take the kids away. That turns it form helping a family to absolute financial support for such children. That sounds less cost effective for all those bottom line people out there.

[Dark-Star]

~100 years ago "family values" was having two or three children before you reached eighteen.

Because not only was your lifespan shorter to start with ~100 years ago, between primitive medicine and a (usually) rough life you'd be lucky if half the kids you bore weren't dead or crippled before they turned eighteen themselves.

Try not to take facts so out of context.