Teen Pregnancy

Since ancient times women have been bearing children as early as 12 years old. Now that humans are living for much longer our society frowns on teenage pregnancies. Having a biased opinion on the matter , I will try to view both sides of this highly controversial subject.

The facts are that teen pregnancy costs the U.S. at least $7 billion dollars annually.
Just under 1/3 of all girls in the Uniteed States will get pregnant before they graduate high school. Every year more than 750,000 teenagers will get pregnant. These are sobering statistics.

Whats worse are the consequences of these pregnanies. Only 1/3 of teen mothers will graduate high school. And only 1.5% of these graduates will complete college by age 30. The most disturbing (to me) is that 80 % of these teen moms will end up on welfare.

But enough with the statistics. What I really want to get down to is how these teen moms produce new generations of  failing children. The children of teen moms are more likely to go to prison and are more likely to have teen pregnancies themselves. Children born to teen mothers have lower birth weights , are less likely to succeed in school , and are at higher risk for neglect & abuse.

I can say 1st hand that being a teen mother is a terrifying experience. I had my oldest child when I was 16 years old . I was absolutely clueless! I was scared and unsure in my abilities to care for my daughter. Thankfully we both endured those times and are much closer than most moms & daughters. If I pass on only 1 piece of advice to my daughters , it is not to get pregnant before they become successfull adults. Big emphasis on the ADULT part !!! Being the intelligent kids they are , they can finish my 'rant' about getting "knocked up" before I can. Thats how often they have heard my "preachings".

Trying not to be a hypocrite on the matter is very objective. I was a teen mother, but do not endorse it in any way. I have and do shake my head when I see teens that are pregnant. Not that I feel like I am better than any of them but I feel sorry for them. If these young mothers really knew what they were about to experience , they would be in constant anguish. The journey they are about to embark on is filled with sleepless nights and worry and is not something I would wish on any teenager.

Having said that ,  my family is living proof that there are teen mothers that transcend the barriers that come along with teenage pregnancy. There are very few benifits to having children very early in life. The only one that comes to mind is being able to retire earlier. But statistics say only about 20% of teen moms will have the opportunity to retire leisurely. Again I hope to blow this statistic 'out of the water'. I have graduated high school & am currently attending college for my Bachelors Degree in Applied Science. However I will not graduate college until I am 34.

I kind of lost what direction I was taking this entry to , but all my points remain valid. I was hoping to give some relevant speach on how our country as a whole has lost perspective on what is important. Enstilling hope and knowledge into our youth , letting them all know that the future is theirs to build , as long as they make rational decisions.

My only words of wisdom are , be smart when having sex. Use protection that not only prevents pregnancy but STDs too. Be mindful that 1 bad decision can & will effect the rest of your life as well as others. Learn from other peoples mistakes , do not repete them!!! Be humble , the rest of the world has much to teach us all!

Hopefully by the time my  children are adults , there will be NO unintended pregnancies. All babies wil be planned , wanted , and loved!!!

I hope that wasn't too much rambling!
Live well & have a blessed day!!!