I said to Rose, "I need something to blog about." Her immediate reply, "Teen pregnancy, or Baybays havin' baybays." In her opionion, it's rampant in our small town. So I wonder, is it really? Or is it just the girls she knows? Or is teen pregnancy this bad everywhere now?
She says it's bad in this town because there's nothing else to do. Really? "I'm bored, why don't we make a baby." I don't think so. But there definitely seems to be an attitude at our local high school that having a baby is not such a big deal. It's not the tragedy that it used to be. I remember when a teenager got pregnant and everyone thought her life was over. Now, it almost seems like a badge of honor. I've heard the girls say, "It's so cute! I want a baby!"
Now don't get me wrong, I am glad the mothers are choosing life over abortion, but what ever happened to planning ahead? Birth control is free for teens (I won't even mention abstinence because we're talking about kids who can't wrap their heads around that concept). Kids these days have access to more information and resources than ever before, so why are so many girls having babies?
I don't have an answer. I'd really like to know what you all think. Do you think it's deliberate? Do they let it happen because they "need someone to love" like I hear on talk shows? What is up with these kids? Tell me what you think.
Have a blessed day!
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I just found out the other day that one of my friends 16 yr old daughter is pregnant. This hits really close to home, we and our kids have been friends for about 7 years. My friend informed me that the teenage girls cannot get 'free birth-control' up here in the high desert anymore. This is not something that I have looked into, but it has sparked conversations with my girls about sex and avoiding and birth control, etc.
ReplyDeleteMy own thoughts about why so many girls seem to be getting pregnant is this- I don't think it has to do with which town you live in. I think its happening everywhere. It's true that when you and I were in high school, we could probably count the number of teen mothers on our fingers. In the times and culture of today's society- it is 'ok' to have a baby when your a teenager. It is not the stigma it once was. The girls are not as afraid of getting pregant as we were in the 70's and 80's. I also think they don't believe it will happen to them. Also, I discoved (from latest conversations with my daughter) that the knowledge the teens have about getting pregnant or NOT getting pregnant is incorrect. We should all make sure our teenagers know the in's and out's of sex! (pun intended)lol
Melody, I appreciate your comment, and I'm sure you're right. It's just not a big deal any more. There is no stigma attached, and parents are more willing to help raise the child than they were when we were kids. I never hear about a girl getting kicked out because of it.
ReplyDeleteJust a side note, in case your friend needs to know, the health department has a clinic here in town where birth control is available. It's in Joshua Tree. Also, she can call Dr. Kasko's office for that kind of thing. Totally free.
She said the one in JT closed. She was supposed to go to Dr. Kasko today I think. Just a couple months too late. :(
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ReplyDeleteOkay, let's try this again. I posted last time, but it ate half of it, and left only the last paragraph so it didn't really get what I wanted to say across.
ReplyDeleteI think that based on my own experiences, some girls will continue to get pregnant whether or not there is birth control available. Some girls get pregnant because they think it will be fun, fulfilling or whatever to have a baby. They like the idea of the perceived attention they will get if they are pregnant. Some of them get pregnant thinking that it will make the father of the baby fall in love with them, or value them more. Some of them see it as a way to get people to see them as a grown up. Some of them don't think they will get pregnant, but don't want the inconvenience of birth control. Some don't want to get birth control because they are in denial about the fact that they are sexually active; maybe they are trying not to be and think that getting birth control is admitting or allowing themselves to consider having sex.
I do know that most of these girls have a void that no man can fill, no baby can fill, nothing in this natural world can fill. They need Jesus and no one can force that on them, it has to be their own choice.
What can we do then? Love them, try to build their self esteem. Talk to them about the reality of being a young mom. Monitor their time spent away from us. And pray... I wish there was an easy answer, I really, really do.