Pregnancy Boom at Local High School

[Peikko 1,575]

Ah, blame a Spears. Neat.

[Sister Fracas 5]

here's the reason

wish they'd just follow other celebrities' leads and carry around little dogs instead of little babies.

[Nessa 23]

Teenagers are highly influenced by the media, not blaming Spears only. That's just 1 example.

[Aussielad 37]

i dunno, make the girls wear razor-wire? lol

[Peikko 1,575]

Fair enough, the media does play a part in the influence game - but I am not sure there is a 'solution' in trying to change the media. It would be far simpler to look a little closer to home probably.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we've become far too lenient. I was in high school back in the mid-to-late 1990s and even then, when a teenage girl got pregnant, her peers and teachers congratulated her! Today, it's gotten to the point where special accommodations are being made for young pregnant mothers in high school and while I disagree with the old "ship 'em off to have the kid" routine that took place in the 1950s and before it, I think we've gone way too far in the opposite direction too.

There needs to be some shame and a social stigma attached to have a child when young. Instead of celebrating it, let's make it something teenage girls would want to prevent from happening.

The best way to do that is show these girls just how much "fun" pregnancy and early motherhood can be! What the media likes to present is the sex (which most people like) and then the aftereffects, which produces the child. TV shows and movies will generally make fun of pregnancy, but very few look at it in any serious way. Because of this, pregnancy and all possible side-effects are made to look humorous. So what needs to be done is that girls need to be shown (or if possible, made to experience in some form) the rigors of pregnancy in order to fully realize that it's not all "fun and games", where you have great sex, gain some weight, cry a little, pop out a kid, and then take care of someone who adores you. Even better, take it one step further and go beyond just pregnancy and move onto caring for a very small child -- see how these teens like being woken up in the middle of the night. I'm sure they'll see their newborns as absolutely precious then, right?

Do I know how this would all work? No, I don't. But I do think most parents would feel better about it than passing out condoms or the birth control pill. A program like this would be teaching girls to avoid pregnancy, which in effect is "abstinence" to some and "safe sex" to others.

[Empress of Groovy 373]

This is clearly an unusual scenario. The fact remains that teenage pregnancy rates have been on a steady decline in the U.S. since 1990. The vast majority of teenage pregnancies are (and were) unintended. The situation of a young girl (or a group of girls) intentionally getting pregnant is far less common.

Not too many girls with educational or professional aspirations intentionally get knocked up at 15. Hell, just looking at the sketches of childbirth in my biology textbook kept me responsible!

Edited June 20, 2008 by Big Agnes!

[Peikko 1,575]

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we've become far too lenient. I was in high school back in the mid-to-late 1990s and even then, when a teenage girl got pregnant, her peers and teachers congratulated her! Today, it's gotten to the point where special accommodations are being made for young pregnant mothers in high school and while I disagree with the old "ship 'em off to have the kid" routine that took place in the 1950s and before it, I think we've gone way too far in the opposite direction too.

There needs to be some shame and a social stigma attached to have a child when young. Instead of celebrating it, let's make it something teenage girls would want to prevent from happening.

The best way to do that is show these girls just how much "fun" pregnancy and early motherhood can be! What the media likes to present is the sex (which most people like) and then the aftereffects, which produces the child. TV shows and movies will generally make fun of pregnancy, but very few look at it in any serious way. Because of this, pregnancy and all possible side-effects are made to look humorous. So what needs to be done is that girls need to be shown (or if possible, made to experience in some form) the rigors of pregnancy in order to fully realize that it's not all "fun and games", where you have great sex, gain some weight, cry a little, pop out a kid, and then take care of someone who adores you. Even better, take it one step further and go beyond just pregnancy and move onto caring for a very small child -- see how these teens like being woken up in the middle of the night. I'm sure they'll see their newborns as absolutely precious then, right?

Do I know how this would all work? No, I don't. But I do think most parents would feel better about it than passing out condoms or the birth control pill. A program like this would be teaching girls to avoid pregnancy, which in effect is "abstinence" to some and "safe sex" to others.

Yes, I can quite see how that would make things a lot better. What every society needs is to find ways to marginalize folks for making mistakes and bad decisions. Maybe you would like to throw in a little mild stoning? How about stocks? We could all throw our rotting vegetables at pregnant teens!

[jundp 191]

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we've become far too lenient. I was in high school back in the mid-to-late 1990s and even then, when a teenage girl got pregnant, her peers and teachers congratulated her! Today, it's gotten to the point where special accommodations are being made for young pregnant mothers in high school and while I disagree with the old "ship 'em off to have the kid" routine that took place in the 1950s and before it, I think we've gone way too far in the opposite direction too.

There needs to be some shame and a social stigma attached to have a child when young. Instead of celebrating it, let's make it something teenage girls would want to prevent from happening.

The best way to do that is show these girls just how much "fun" pregnancy and early motherhood can be! What the media likes to present is the sex (which most people like) and then the aftereffects, which produces the child. TV shows and movies will generally make fun of pregnancy, but very few look at it in any serious way. Because of this, pregnancy and all possible side-effects are made to look humorous. So what needs to be done is that girls need to be shown (or if possible, made to experience in some form) the rigors of pregnancy in order to fully realize that it's not all "fun and games", where you have great sex, gain some weight, cry a little, pop out a kid, and then take care of someone who adores you. Even better, take it one step further and go beyond just pregnancy and move onto caring for a very small child -- see how these teens like being woken up in the middle of the night. I'm sure they'll see their newborns as absolutely precious then, right?

Do I know how this would all work? No, I don't. But I do think most parents would feel better about it than passing out condoms or the birth control pill. A program like this would be teaching girls to avoid pregnancy, which in effect is "abstinence" to some and "safe sex" to others.

Yes, I can quite see how that would make things a lot better. What every society needs is to find ways to marginalize folks for making mistakes and bad decisions. Maybe you would like to throw in a little mild stoning? How about stocks? We could all throw our rotting vegetables at pregnant teens!

I must agree.

DPX did you read my previous post?

[Empress of Groovy 373]

The best way to do that is show these girls just how much "fun" pregnancy and early motherhood can be! What the media likes to present is the sex (which most people like) and then the aftereffects, which produces the child. TV shows and movies will generally make fun of pregnancy, but very few look at it in any serious way. Because of this, pregnancy and all possible side-effects are made to look humorous. So what needs to be done is that girls need to be shown (or if possible, made to experience in some form) the rigors of pregnancy in order to fully realize that it's not all "fun and games", where you have great sex, gain some weight, cry a little, pop out a kid, and then take care of someone who adores you. Even better, take it one step further and go beyond just pregnancy and move onto caring for a very small child -- see how these teens like being woken up in the middle of the night. I'm sure they'll see their newborns as absolutely precious then, right?

Er, with a rent-a-baby?

And what about the conventional wisdom that "it's different when it's yours"?

Should all teenage girls be subjected to, say, those empathy bellies for a few days? And some kind of nausea-inducing substance? Maybe as a graduation requirement?

Oy!

[palilover 1]

This is nuts. But only in our society would this happen.

Why were these girls so gung ho about signing a pact to get pregnent? Well, you know how teenage girls love to do things in groups. Maybe this circle of friends is the only "family" they've ever known. So maybe they wanted to sign the pact to form their own clique and had fantasies of raising their kids together...forming little playgroups, their kids can all be friends. Kind of like a "community type thing"

As for Gloucester not having anything available because it's poor fishing community, I can't judge Gloucester because I've never been that far up in MA yet. (I've seen beautiful pics though so I'm sure when habibi gets back I will be going there with him:) But I myself grew up in a tiny farm town in the middle of the midwest so I know what it's like having a dead atmosphere with no opportunity. To make it worse, things are not inclusive, but exclusive. you can only play sports if you are good enough, you can only join this club if you are good enough. No wonder people think they are not good enough for anything! People are not given opportunities to keep themselves out of trouble like they should. Now granted, if I was having this conversation with my grandmother (as I always did when I was a kid), she would say "When I was your age, we played kick the can. You kids just aren't happy with anything these days". I think there should be more community activiites for after school that can keep kids involved at an early age so they do not have time to get into trouble.

Besides, they should not use the small town argument for those kids anyways. It costs maybe $10 or less for a commuter rail pass round trip to Boston. When I was growing up in a corn field, we did not have public transportation, so those kids got it beautiful:)) (and I can guarantee they'd find a better sperm donor in Boston than a 24 year old homeless guy......er..that was a joke:)

But what to do with the girls once they get pregnent? Well, our society has indeed become too liberal. We welcome babies and even allow babies to have babies. Unfortunately we cannot police Susie's bedroom at a certain age to make sure she is not having guys sneak in her room. I think that it should just be that kids learn respect for themselves and for other people. But it is sad to think why certain people such as teachers should be teaching sex ed and respect though. That's a parents job, but parents are too lazy to do anything these days.

I remember a conversation I had with a Palestinian neighbor a few years ago. She said she got pregnent at 16 and dropped out of school when she was 16. She said she was forced to drop out. I asked her why and she said because they believe if the other girls see pregnent teenagers, they will start to know things or want to experience things that they should not be experiencing until they are ready. I thought this through. I decided that their approach was too harsh. You cannot refuse that a woman go to school. A woman has the right to educate herself. The story that woman told me happened to her in Palestine nearly 20 years ago, so I don't know how it is now over there. But I do know this. Those women who get pregnent over there were lucky enough to have the man support them and be married. We have a different society here. Many times the men here do not stick around and go bye bye. The woman is left alone to care for the baby. How is she going to do that and not be on welfare sucking our paychecks if she is not educated?

Based on the fact that our society has become lenient on teenage pregnency and it has become the norm, I do tend to agree with the Palestinian woman's argument she made from her upbringing. BUT I do NOT believe that you just strip the woman out of an education, thus causing a disadvantage for her and her baby. But what I could propose is a seperate school specifically for teenage mothers. The minute they announce they are pregnent, ship them off to a "vocational type" school where they can still get an education. They, in this type of school, would not only receive the high school diploma but also learn how to raise the baby (diaper changing, what to do wehn baby is sick, how to tell if baby is sick, etc, etc) and maybe at this school they can give crash course on things such as being woken up at 3AM to a screaming baby. Not only that, but since many teenage mothers end up as single mothers, they must be prepared to deal with things on their own just in case the father takes a hike and forgets to come back. What about teaching them stuff like how to build resume, looking for work, financial stuff. Someone has to support the baby as well, and it may be the mother alone.

So while teenage pregnancy is an issue that we deal with, I do not think it should be condoned to the point of making teenagers feel like they are only going to get attention if they have a baby. It should not be accepted because a child does need a good upbringing and needs both mother and father to be there. But unfortunately it is what it is and we must deal with what we have and try to be fair for the people who fall into error.

[DeadPoolX 9]

Part of the problem, as I see it, is that we've become far too lenient. I was in high school back in the mid-to-late 1990s and even then, when a teenage girl got pregnant, her peers and teachers congratulated her! Today, it's gotten to the point where special accommodations are being made for young pregnant mothers in high school and while I disagree with the old "ship 'em off to have the kid" routine that took place in the 1950s and before it, I think we've gone way too far in the opposite direction too.

There needs to be some shame and a social stigma attached to have a child when young. Instead of celebrating it, let's make it something teenage girls would want to prevent from happening.

The best way to do that is show these girls just how much "fun" pregnancy and early motherhood can be! What the media likes to present is the sex (which most people like) and then the aftereffects, which produces the child. TV shows and movies will generally make fun of pregnancy, but very few look at it in any serious way. Because of this, pregnancy and all possible side-effects are made to look humorous. So what needs to be done is that girls need to be shown (or if possible, made to experience in some form) the rigors of pregnancy in order to fully realize that it's not all "fun and games", where you have great sex, gain some weight, cry a little, pop out a kid, and then take care of someone who adores you. Even better, take it one step further and go beyond just pregnancy and move onto caring for a very small child -- see how these teens like being woken up in the middle of the night. I'm sure they'll see their newborns as absolutely precious then, right?

Do I know how this would all work? No, I don't. But I do think most parents would feel better about it than passing out condoms or the birth control pill. A program like this would be teaching girls to avoid pregnancy, which in effect is "abstinence" to some and "safe sex" to others.

Yes, I can quite see how that would make things a lot better. What every society needs is to find ways to marginalize folks for making mistakes and bad decisions. Maybe you would like to throw in a little mild stoning? How about stocks? We could all throw our rotting vegetables at pregnant teens!

I'm not quite sure how you made the illogical leap from "preventing pregnancy" to "stoning, stockades or tossing rotting vegetables." I'm not surprised by your highly predictable response, however.

Now then... seeing as how our current method of handling things isn't working (and in fact, only making the situation worse in some cases), I'd say turning teenage pregnancy into a negative would actually be a good thing. When people schools actively congratulate and celebrate a 15 year-old's pregnancy, I'd say something has gone awry. Your opinion may differ.

The best way to do that is show these girls just how much "fun" pregnancy and early motherhood can be! What the media likes to present is the sex (which most people like) and then the aftereffects, which produces the child. TV shows and movies will generally make fun of pregnancy, but very few look at it in any serious way. Because of this, pregnancy and all possible side-effects are made to look humorous. So what needs to be done is that girls need to be shown (or if possible, made to experience in some form) the rigors of pregnancy in order to fully realize that it's not all "fun and games", where you have great sex, gain some weight, cry a little, pop out a kid, and then take care of someone who adores you. Even better, take it one step further and go beyond just pregnancy and move onto caring for a very small child -- see how these teens like being woken up in the middle of the night. I'm sure they'll see their newborns as absolutely precious then, right?

Er, with a rent-a-baby?

And what about the conventional wisdom that "it's different when it's yours"?

Should all teenage girls be subjected to, say, those empathy bellies for a few days? And some kind of nausea-inducing substance? Maybe as a graduation requirement?

Oy!

Conventional wisdom is often wrong. As for how such a process would be implemented, I'm not quite sure at this time. Rest assured, I will figure it out.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Teenage pregnancy is a negative - I would imagine most girls learn that the hard way.

[Sister Fracas 5]

Now then... seeing as how our current method of handling things isn't working (and in fact, only making the situation worse in some cases), I'd say turning teenage pregnancy into a negative would actually be a good thing. When people schools actively congratulate and celebrate a 15 year-old's pregnancy, I'd say something has gone awry. Your opinion may differ.

Congratulating and celebrating is entirely different from providing support so girls can stay in school. Yes, the ideal is to educate kids not only on the "where babies come from", but also about STDs, contraception AND the responsibilities of child-rearing. Shaming girls, once the deed has been done, is just ridiculous. That IS going back to a time when girls were mysteriously sent off to family members to have the baby. And then the baby was raised as a sibling...

[Jenn! 918]

I don't know, I see DPX's point. I don't think he's talking about stoning, just addressing the issue of why would this group of girls want to make a pregnancy pact. What happened in this community to reverse the typical image of teen pregnancy? That needs to be fixed.

But I also tend to agree with what Julie said before about this being a unique case. I have a hard time believing that most teenage girls do not already view pregnancy and motherhood as something that is not good for their life right now.

These teen role models are not helping though...Jamie Lynne Spears anyone?