Children Raising Children

       Being a teenager in our society can be an extremely tough situation. It is a time where one often has to decipher a question like “who am I” and “what do I want to do with my future?” Many adults envy teenagers because they think that they are irresponsible with the opportunity life gives them with a clean fresh start. Although there are exceptions to this theory, this is the case for a certain percentile of teenagers who have taken the reckless path of doing things they are not often mature enough to do. Teen pregnancy is a major problem in a teen’s life because in the majority of times it is unplanned which has an irreversible effect in the teen’s life. Teenagers having sex at an early age is caused by many factors that include:  peer pressure, uneducated beliefs about sex, and the media’s exposure of sex all around us. Although some believe that teenage pregnancy is a problem that only affects certain people in our society, in reality this is an issue that affects everyone and it should become our top priority to prevent unnecessary teen pregnancy. According to the Family First Aid organization, “Thirty-four percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 -- about 820,000 a year.” This percentage of born babies intoday’s generation is a big issue because it increases our population and decreases resources. Many would like to think that these problems only concerns those involved but this is not the case when unwanted babies are being born as if they were an easy task to handle. Babies are little defenseless creatures who do not ask to be born and many of them face terrible circumstances like negligence and abuse from their irresponsible teen parents. If the parents of the newborn are not educated or prepared to face to a raise a child, they will often struggle the most to face their circumstance because they themselves have trouble dealing with their own lives.

       A solution to this controversial issue is to put all efforts in educating our society and especially the parents of teenagers so they become more aware of the important decision their child is making when they decide to become sexually active. The majority of parents believe that it is taboo to speak about sex to their child but this ridiculous belief must be broken because it is better to know ahead of time what one might face in the future by someone whom one trusts rather than having to make the wrong decisions on one’s own based on things they see done in the TV or by looking at wrong role models. If parents placed more importance in teaching their children about sex while young and growing there would be a less chance for their child to be curious and make dangerous and naïve decisions. Children that had early sexual education are more conscious of sexual matters and are more aware of the consequences of sexual activities, pregnancies and diseases.

Determining when it is the right time for a teenager to engage in sexual activities is a matter of moral and personal belief; this is why this is a controversial topic to discuss.  Abstinence is the most traditional method in avoiding any type of consequence, but in today’s generation a very small percentile of teenagers take this option. Making it easier for teenagers to obtain different types of contraceptive methods is one of the options we have in allowing them to take a safe alternative. Giving teenagers choices will allow them to take smarter decisions and make them contemplate healthier and effective options.

       In today’s society things happen that we would never imagine possible, such as a child being able to give birth at an extremely young age to another little creature. In an ABC  news article,

“10-Year-Old Girl Gives Birth to Daughter”, written by Katie Moisse, we become witnesses to some of the atrocities that occur worldwide. According to the article a 10-year-old Colombian girl gave birth to a healthy baby girl, making her one of the youngest mothers ever. According to the article, Dr. Frederick Gonzalez, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at NYU Langone Medical Center states,“These girls are not ready to be pregnant. Their bodies are not mature,” said Gonzalez. “They may be able to get pregnant, but being able to have a baby is a whole other situation.” This is an extreme example to the consequences of premature sexual activity and even though this child was forced to have sexual interactions, someone could have prevented this from occurring. We must learn from example to what not to do. Sexual assault crimes should be stopped and a good way in making this happen is by reinforcing laws against rapist.

       Becoming a parent at a young age can cause teen parents to take extreme actions about their future. According to the stayteeen.org, “Parenthood is the leading reason why teen girls drop out of school…Less than half of teen mothers ever graduate from high school and fewer than 2% earn a college degree by age 30.”Young mothers are notable to juggle managing both school and raising a child. Putting the consequences vs. the pleasure of having unprotected sex on a scale

would really make teenagers realize that it is not worth it to put all of their future at risk because of that spare of the moment.

       Teenagers watch a lot of television and are extremely influenced by the messages confined by it.  MTV has various TV shows like “ 16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” that portray the struggles of young teenage mothers. These TV shows can have a positive influence on its young viewers because they show the reality behind this controversial topic. Every show involves the struggles that young mothers face with relationships and their social lives. Most often the baby’s father chooses to not be responsible and leave the mother to fend for herself. These shows also portray how hard it its to handle the constant disapproval the mothers faced from all of her peers and family members. Each episode tries to emphasize how the young mothers had to give up a great deal of their social lives, and although some don’t, it is made clear that sacrifices need to made when you have a child no matter what age you are.

       Babies are the most precious little human beings on earth but they cannot be overestimated; they required a great deal of commitment and responsibilities. Our society must be concerned about the growing number of teenagers giving birth. Parents should be focus on the well-being of their children. Teaching their kids about sex at a young age will allow them to become wise and responsible adults. They will not be misguided or peer pressured by anyone if they are well informed about the commitment they make when they become sexually active.