Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Is Teen Pregnancy glorified in America?
I'm sick of TV showing these teen pregnancy shows. Even if they aren't glorifying it, teens may see if that way. They don't understand that judgment is the last thing we develop. So is the topic a taboo one? Well, just last week I heard in the news that 90 teenage girls were reported to be pregnant in a high school in Tennessee. Apparently these girls made a pact to become pregnant at the same time. How does this happen? Coincidently, the LifeTime channel had a movie sometime last year called "Pregnancy Pact", which was said to be based on a true story. I will never understand how 90 teenage girls can disregard their futures and any possible consequences and commit to becoming pregnant at such a young age. This has to stop. When will we start paying closer attention to our teens? What can be the cause of this? how do we stop things like this from happening? And to take a closer look at the root of the problem, what is causing these girls to WANT to be a mother at such a young age? In my opinion, there is simply not enough for them to do. The less there is to do, the more opportunities they have to mess up. The other factor would be a lack of attention/self-esteem. Maybe if there were more two parent or blended households, we could save more of these teens from the likely struggle that is to come from being a teen parent. It takes a villiage to raise a child.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I do believe the US has glorified teen pregnancy with Bristol Palin and Jamie Lynn Spears and unfortunatley their reality is so different than the majority of teen mothers. The shows '16 and Pregnant' and 'Teen Mom' do so much damage. We are accustomed to instant gratification. We are teaching teens to "sell" themselves because there is no place else they will they earn this kind of fast cash than by exposing their lives on reality TV. In addition to low self-esteem, many youth live in communities where they don't see another way of life. Teens need comprehensive sexual health that includes family planning, benefits of abstinence as well as birth control facts. Whether they come from a single parent or two-parent household, for many youth, having an adult they can trust and being exposed to new mindsets and lifestyles can mean the difference between becoming a teen parent or becoming the CEO of a major corporation.
ReplyDeleteGood topic. I believe that television shows now give a false sense of what really is "Reality". They glorify nothing but bad things and try to make it seem good. Having a child is a beautiful thing if it is done correctly which doesnt happen too often where im from. The parents now days were the real 16 & pregnants and now their kids have made it to that age and the 32-33 year old parent is still trying to have fun so they become more of a friend and they tend not to give the best advice....if any at all. Television, cell phones and computers raise these kids today. All it takes is a quick text or message on FB and a couple pictures and there it is! the girls and guys think its cute. They end up having sex because its everywhere. Can you really blame the child for that? you have to go to the source and we all know who that is, mom (and dad if he's around). It starts at home and if there is no structure there the child has nothing else to learn from besides what he/she sees at home or in a lot of cases in school and on the street. We have to do our part and raise our kids to think for tyhemselves and not how it is on TV.
ReplyDeleteAs early as elementary school, sex ed is being taught. And by middle school, kids are experimenting. I agree that parents needs to do their part, but at the end of the day, maybe they're (the kids) are not being educated enough. MTV and other programming seems to be exploiting rather than educating young women about the trials and tribulations of being a teen parent. Perhaps if education became a priority in this country, more measures would be taken to ensure that young people have a clear indication of the path that having a child at a young age paves.
ReplyDeleteWe could spend more money educating the young people..or maybe we could devote that money to educating parents.
I believe teen pregnancy is glorified in America because society doesn't believe our youth has a future doing anything else. I say that because all the outlets our kids use or look to never focus on them learning to self educate themselves or how to believe that they can be more than society has depicted. Like many of you stated networks eat up the idea of having another teen pregnancy show, they don't care about preventing the next teen from making the same choice because if they did we would see networks trying use these kids by having the show focus on them going to schools or youth centers to spread the word why you should wait to be a parent. There are so many positive things that can come from these shows, but that's not the purpose. Also parents need to take back their kids and stop depending on society to raise them. Teach your kids to value and respect themselves and to dream big. Stop trying to be your childs friend first and their parents second. Children need guidance and we have to fix ourselves first by doing the right things and then bringing kids in the world and leading by example.
ReplyDelete