Teenagers with busy parents who have no time to guide and support them are more likely to get pregnant. Communication between parents and children, a part of family bonding, becomes weak. A teen who does not feel that she can talk to her parents about sex will turn to friends, movies, or videos that will most likely give wrong information. The lack of affection from the family will push them to have an intimate relationship elsewhere.
Teenage pregnancy can also be a result of failure to teach the necessary sex education to both the school and parents. They then get engaged in sexual contact without any knowledge about contraception or the proper use of birth control. Parents are still hesitant to discuss sex with their kids and are just content with whatever sex education is offered by the school. According to a survey poll by National Public Radio, Sex Education in America Foundation, and Harvard's Kennedy School National Survey on Sex Education, most Americans agree that sex education should be taught in schools. The debate continues on this day on whether to teach a broad sex education curriculum to schools.
Children of overprotective parents can also be rebellious. They cannot make their own decision, and some get tired of it by doing things against their parent's will. They turn to friends who are into alcohol and drugs or find the security and love they are looking for in the opposite sex and are more likely to get pregnant. They find happiness away from the sight of their parents. Stemming from that, however, some children, no matter how great their parents are, are just too stubborn and do what they think will make them happy without consideration for how it will affect others. They are prone to bad influences, sexual escapades, and early pregnancy that will lead them to miserable lives.
The effect of teenage pregnancy on society is a serious issue. School dropouts are the leading effects of pregnancy; they cannot handle the burden of studying and taking care of their baby after birth. Because of their responsibility to the newborn baby, they choose to stay home taking care of the kids. Many teen moms may find it difficult or impossible to support their kids because they did not get the proper education, so the career option is limited resulting in poverty. Others pursue their dream to finish college education and become good parents.
Teenage pregnancy is most common in the USA, despite the government campaigns to teach sex education in schools. According to The National Campaign, the teenage pregnancy rate declined from 1990 to 2008, therefore teenagers are becoming aware of the negative impacts of early pregnancy. If pregnancy happens to one member of the family, all we need is to give them the support they need instead of blaming them, for sure they already learned their lesson for what they have done wrong. Teenage pregnancy is a life-long commitment that needs serious attention.
