Teenage Pregnancy

Teen Pregnancy Throughout life teenagers go through very tough decisions that could mold their future for the rest of their lives. At such a young age, adolescents believe that they’re old enough to make their own decisions on crucial matters. One of those choices is deciding that it’s time to have a child. Teenage pregnancy is a very difficult transition that no adolescent should put upon themselves at such a young age. Once you go through with it there’s no going back; your childhood is over, it’s time to become an adult. There are too many negative outcomes for teenage mothers that pregnancy as an adolescent should be illegal. The fear of poverty sets in along with the social challenges that accompany becoming a teen mom. Safe sex and being aware of possibly going through with an abortion should always be the option. Most, if not all teenagers aren’t aware of the struggles that come with becoming a parent at that age. Providing for one’s self growing up is tough enough, but to take on the role of mending for another life that young is just mind boggling. The first people that come to thought that influence a decision like this have to be those adolescents’ parents. Older parents have to make a better effort in talking to their children about sex and the consequences that are associated with it. According to the New York Times article “Income Inequalities and Teenage Pregnancy”, Teenagers are most likely to seek sexual information from their friends (61 percent). Although they are least likely to seek information from their parents (32 percent), a significant number of teenagers (43 percent) express a strong desire to have more information on how to talk to their parents about sex and relationships. Adults of course aren’t the only ones to blame. The world we live in today is full of different types of media that can mislead a teen into making wrong decisions. For example, the television show “Teen Mom” on MTV is a very good portrayal of the life of an average teen mom. The show depicts the various difficulties associated with having a child as an adolescent. The message it tries to get across can be taken one way by some and could be taken the complete opposite by others. Some teens may think that the struggles that come with the individuals on the show could never happen to them. This is where they’re seriously wrong. Raising a child isn’t just about caring for him and tending to all of its needs; finances play a huge role in making sure you and your child don’t live through poverty. You can bet that if you’re pregnant before you leave high school, getting a degree and education will be drastically affected. In fact, “The Unplanned Pregnancy for Teens and College Students” states that parenthood is the leading reason that teen girls drop out of school. More than half of teen mothers never graduate from high school. Not only that but less than 2 percent of teen moms earn a college degree by age 30. Now keeping this in mind, it’s very difficult to find a decent paying job without a degree these days. To top that off, 8 out of 10 teen dads don’t marry the mother of the child. So now we’re talking possibly becoming the sole provider for your child. Would you want you and your kid to growing up into poverty and living at ends meet? This isn’t always the case but it looks like the ideal situation to abide by would be staying in school, getting a degree and not putting yourself into a situation that you could regret for the rest of your life. There are many different ways you can avoid putting yourself at risk to become so sexually active that the chance of becoming pregnant doesn’t happen. Re-evaluate the people that you surround yourself with. The article from the New York Times concludes that “Adolescents (ages 13 to 18) report that they are most likely to get information about sexual health issues from their peers.” Peer pressure is something every teenager will go through at one course in their lives. It’s their responsibility to recognize when it’s good and bad pressure. Why associate yourself with friends that are all about sex, drugs, and money? Knowing which group of peers to avoid hanging out with will increase your decision making and make you a better decision taker. Another way you can stray away from being a parent so young is practicing different methods of contraception. Sexual intercourse will eventually happen for every teen. Putting yourself at risk for not wrapping it up or being on birth control is idiotic. As you can see, your teenage years are supposed to be the time of your life. There shouldn’t be any stress or any major concerns with how your future is falling into place. Becoming a teenage parent is a foolish decision and isn’t worth throwing the good times away. Raising a child is a huge responsibility and in my opinion, is more of an immature move than a mature one if you’re that young. Raising a family is supposed to be a rewarding experience, not one that you should have any regrets on.

Works Cited:
Williams-Wheeler, Dorrie. The Unplanned Pregnancy for Teens and College Students. Boston, MA: Sparkdoll Productions, December 10th 2013
Motoko, Rich. “Income Inequalities and Teenage Pregnancy.” http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/income-inequality-and-teenage-pregnancy/?ref=teenagepregnancy. April 13th 2012