Essay, Research Paper: Teanage Pregnancy Why Or Why Not

why or Teaching about Teenage Pregnancy why not?
What is sex education, “Planned Parenthood of America defines sex education as a learning responsibility and the ethical behavior stressing the importance of understanding sexuality in all its aspects, humane growth, sexual development, social development, and decision making, as well as information on the biology of the reproduction system.” (1.p.24) Do our children today need to be aware of what sex education is and how teen pregnancy can affect their lives and others?
Supporters of formal sex education believe that sex is too compound to be taught by parents. Most parents are in denial that there children are not sexually active, when it is just the opposite where kids today are beginning at ages as low as fourteen, and possibly even younger. So if today’s parents do not begin to teach there children where babies come from and how they are made and even more important how to prevent them,
Schools who offer sex education sometimes generally focus on the parts of the body and its function. These issues are important, however on a more complex issue is pregnancy and contraception and where these kids can get there hands on it if they are being sexually active. Today’s children need to be aware that becoming sexually active will rearrange their lives forever.
Why do teen s get pregnant? “In a survey conducted asking teens why they had unprotected sex, their answers were, didn’t plan for it to happen, unsure of where to get protection, and couldn’t afford contraception.” (2.) Other reasons teens might get pregnant would be because taking care of babies is fun, there cute and soft and they will love you no matter what. In a movie documentary called “Raging Hormones” by Dr. Henry W Foster, Jr. He is shown discussing the statistics of teen pregnancy, this video gives and excellent instance on why teens get pregnant. The video shows a young girl who is playing with a baby doll, looking in on the dollhouse; she is singing a song about wanting to have a baby. (3)
Why should teens wait to become pregnant? “Every year I million teens become pregnant. The United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy, which is costing at least $7 billion a year. Even though teen pregnancy has been in a decline of 12% from 91-96.” (4.p3-4) This issue is still very large. One out of ever three girls has sex before the age of sixteen. “Three out of four boys have sex before age 18”. (2) “One out of every two girls states that they trust their parents to give them full reliable information on birth control. At least 12% state they would trust a friend more then there parents.” (2)
Today’s teens need to have more sex education in early adolescence. As young children they are becoming more sexually active at an early age then ever before. Education should begin at home and continue also within school curriculums. Discussing sex and pregnancy and what it involves can give a young girl the courage to say no, to sex. Our teens need to be aware of the damage that becoming pregnant can do not only to their lives but their parents, and their babies. “If you become a pregnant teen you are faced with issues like your baby having low birth weight, which can lead to mental retardation, childhood diseases or even death.” (1) Teens are faced with more decision then they’re able to handle when they become pregnant,
The facts state that less then half of teen parents graduate, there income is half of what it is if they would have waited until at least the age of twenty, teen mother are more likely to have a second child within a year of having the first, Teen fathers are more likely to pay only $1500 a year in child support, most don’t pay any at all, teen mothers are more likely to abuse there children because of restricted social networks, Baby boys which are born to single teen mothers are more likely to end up in prison when they get older and baby girls born to single teen mothers are more likely to become pregnant themselves as a teen.(2)
In becoming a teen parent, you are faced with many more responsibilities then any one person that age could imagine. Your choices are abortion, adoption, single parenthood and in some cases marriage. These decisions begin roaming your mind from the day the test appears positive. Then the actuality of this problem begin to set in and you start to cry daily almost every hour the tears begin to fall. You’re confused. Questions fill your mind, who do you ask. You tell your best friend, she has no advice for you. So, whom do you turn to now? Your parents? No, they don’t even think you know what sex is. Your teachers? No, they might tell your parents. So who? You are in the dark. You tell your boyfriend. He is as much in the dark as you are. He tells you he will be there and that he loves you. As time goes on he eventually slips away like you never even existed. As you are pondering this huge decision alone days and weeks are passing and your body is changing and your parents are going to begin to notice that you are different. You are trying to hide the morning sickness, the weight gain the swelling in your hands and feet. Your friend decides that she is going to tell your sibling for your own good. Your sibling gives you a choice to tell your parents yourself or they will do it for you. Now your faced with the hard choice of how you tell this dreadful circumstance to your parents. All in al the decision for abortion is long gone, you have gone to far into your pregnancy, your decision to become a mommy is the way to go. Up until the day is baby is born the attention was all on you. This is what you we wanting in the first place. You start to get excited. The big day is finally here and your baby is born. From this day forward your life is no longer yours it is your babies. You will forever be up for hours every night with a crying baby, feeding changing and caring for this infant. Your friends have disappeared, your alone, again. You have no money to buy what you want, every penny you have will go toward food, formula, diapers, ECT. This is your life as a teen parent.
A true example of what a teen mother has to go through, some of the thought that ran through her mind. The consequences she had to face all because of a sexual experience that she was not prepared to engage in. By beginning with education within the home at early ages, teens will understand what sex is and when sex should happen. If they are able to continue this education within the school system they will have a better chance of knowing where to obtain the protection if they need it, or better yet learning that it is ok for them to say no to sex until they are ready. Lets protect our children from growing up to fast, show them that as parents and teachers they can talk to us openly about their sexual feelings. We can do this by educating them early and thoroughly about the outcome of early sexual experience, and teen parenting.


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