The Teenage Pregnancy Epidemic
The Teenage Pregnancy Epidemic
Teen Pregnancy is a national epidemic that cannot be ignored. More teens get pregnant in the U.S.A than any other country of the same status. It goes back to education about sex and pregnancy prevention within the schools and homes. More should and can be done to help the teenage birth rates decline. Teenagers who have babies are more likely to not finish high school and have their future plans interrupted. This leads to less income and more people in poverty. Also, babies born to teenager moms have a more likely chance of having a low birth weight and this can lead to all sorts of medical problems later in life.
The first step to prevent pregnancy starts at a younger age. In about 5th grade, a movie is shown about puberty and the developing body. It is important that during this movie it is stressed that just because your body can make babies does not mean it should. It is also important for these preteens to know that being physically matured and mentally mature are two very different things. At that young age, it isn’t very likely for these kids to participate in sexual activities but the best way to get the message across is to start young. Drilling abstinence into these young minds is so very important because the media can give them a different view of things.
Lately, the media has been not only showing sex in a wrong way but also has shows pregnancy wrong too. Many TV shows display sex in such a casual way. For example, the TV show Gossip Girl has been said to be one of the most sexual shows on TV and it is directed towards teen. Different scenarios have been shown on Gossip Girl that display sex and a casual thing, without any marriage or even any emotional attachment. This can give teens a very wrong idea about what sex should be and even encourage them to participate in sex. I don’t think these shows should be removed from television but there should be a warning before shows of that nature contain mature subject...
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