Solutions to Teen Pregnancy

Solving the Problem of Teen Pregnancy In the United States, teen pregnancy is one of the problems that society faces. Shows like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom have shed a light about this problem and has been an educational tool for many teens to learn from other teen girls featured on the show. These shows tell the reality of these teens having children, the hardships they go through, and the high cost that carries along with being a teen parent. The country’s birth rate for teens is nine times higher than most developed countries, but within the past 20 years, teen birth rates have dropped by 40% (cdc.gov). Even though the rate of teen births has dropped, there has to be a solution to lower the risk of teen pregnancy and ultimately solve this problem. The reason for teen pregnancy is the lack of education and communication from adults to teenagers. Sexual education classes given in the schools around this country mainly promote abstinence until marriage. These classes are good in a way because it promotes teenagers to wait to have sex until marriage and the risks of engaging in pre-marital sex such as getting a sexual transmitted disease (STD). The problem with an only abstinence program is that it leaves out other information such as contraception, biology, and an emotional appeal to this subject matter. This is where the lack of education and communication breaks off. Having well-rounded information towards the benefits of abstinence along with information about contraception can help improve teens to make a wise and healthy decision (Richey, 2011). Of course, changing the curriculum in schools would be hard to do since society always has an opinion towards what is going on in this country. Teachers can teach the benefits of abstinence and STDs, but they do not provide an emotional appeal to relate to teenagers. That is one of the reasons for parents to be the ones to step up to talk to their children about this issue. Parents of children are in a way part of the solution towards preventing teenage pregnancy. According to Steve Nagy (a retired professor from Western Kentucky University (WKU)) and many other experts, they agree that it is the parent’s responsibility to communicate with their children about sex and schools or society should not play a role at all. Along with that, parents should think of having “the talk” to their kids before they are teenagers, states Darlene Shearer (professor from WKU). She also suggests that talking about this issue should not be a once or twice discussed, but an on-going conversation in order for it to be less awkward and for their children to be open to discuss and ask questions (Mink, 2012). The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy also states that the most influence teenagers have for decisions towards sex, relationships, and love are their parents (thenationalcampaign.org). With all these experts stating parents as being more influential towards the issue of sex, then, how can parents start the conversation? Where to they go to get information? What should be discussed? The internet is a great tool for educational purposes in order to find out more about this issue, how to start, and to get help. Organizations such as The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, The Candie’s Foundation, and Advocates for Youth (just to name a few) are good sources of information to obtain in order to learn and educate parents and teens. Along with information, there are also real stories to share from teen moms, tips on how to start the conversation, and topics to discuss. Stayteen.org is a website that is useful to find information similar to the information that organizations have, finding health centers near the community, fun quizzes, and games. Another source of information for parents and teen to look up is through their local health centers. Teen pregnancy is a problem that society faces in this country. The lack of education and communication from adults to teenagers contribute to this problem by omitting information about contraception and not having an emotional appeal toward this topic. Ultimately, parents have to play a bigger role towards discussing this issue early on and continue these conversations because it doesn’t stop. Educating, communicating, and parental involvement toward this issue can help lover the risk of teen pregnancy in order to have this problem completely solved.

Resources
Mink, J. (2012). Sex ed: Some experts fear adults are failing children. Daily News. Retrieved May 20, 2012 from http://search.proquest.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/docview/1013475243/citation?source=fedsrch&accountid=7374
Preventing Teen Pregnancy in the US. (2011, April). CDC Vital Signs. Retrieved May 10, 2012 from http://www.cdc.gov/VitalSigns/TeenPregnancy/index.html Richey, J.E.M. (2011). The Role of High School Librarians as Sexual Health Information Providers: Perception from Two Social Systems. Retrieved May 9, 2012 from http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/ETD-UT-2011-08-3776/RICHEY-DISSERTATION.pdf?sequence=1
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Retrieved May 21, 2012 from http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/parents/default.aspx