Why are teen pregnancies so high?

[Keef]

Accidents do happen, but one has to generallise somewhat in this kind of debate, else one gets blinded by the circumstance of am individual, and loses sight of the bigger picture.

[KalamityKel]

one would also need to b careful not to b blinded on the scale of said debate.

[Brendan]

If you are talking about accidental pregnancy then one solution is to scare the bejesus out of them with the very real threat of AIDS. And make condoms freely available at all clinics, hospitals and GP surgeries. In a basket out front don?t make the poor buggers have to go and ask for them.

A while ago I was speaking to my brother about this. He is 16 years older than me but went to the same school in the same small, not very affluent town, and in his final 2 years of school at least 6 girls in his year left because they were pregnant. In mine there was only 1 and there were a lot more people at the school when I went there. I put it down to the fact that In South Africa in the 90s we were given free condoms and were shit scared of AIDS.

[david_carnell]

KalamityKel Wrote:

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> one would also need to b careful not to b blinded

> on the scale of said debate.

Does this imply that you think Britain havin gthe highest level of teenage pregnancy in Europe is actually not much of a problem?

[KalamityKel]

nope not really... wot exactly is the number in population NOT percentage? :p

[mockney piers]

"the choice to have unprotected sex"

..and we're pretty much back to the question first raised as to why this is happening.

The science of economics assumes a perfectly eduacted and perfectly rational populace, neither of which, we all know, exist.

Hence why economists are basically glorified guessers.

I'm not getting drawn closer to the flame again, but I'll leave it at few, if any of us qualify to be studied by economists.

So why on earth do you think mixed up, often genuinely ignorant teenagers are making rational choices?

[Scruffy Mummy]

King's Fund did some reasearch into effectiveness of big scare tactics campaigns on health i.e. smoking campaigns, AIDS awareness, anti drug and found that these campaigns were limited in their effectiveness. Mainly because often people rationalise that this won't happen to them - look for example at smoking. It should be a perfectly rational decision not to smoke - the long-term impact on your health is clear and is spelt out on every cigarette package. But how many people continue to smoke knowing the risks involved?? We all like to think that it is someone else who will get lung cancer, not us!!

Young people in particular have a sense of invulnerablity - and often feel like they won't be the unlucky ones to get AIDS, AIDS is still seen as a disease other people get not me. However, what workers who work directly with teenage boys think is quite effective is to show them medical photos of penises that have been effected by an STI!! This often has the desired effect as the boy goes - yuck, I don't want that to happen to me and my bits!!

[LizzygotDizzy]

Well on that note Scruffy, what do you think of America's approach with the screaming crying lifelike babies they give to teenagers to try and deter them from having babies young? has the teenager pregnancy ratio dropped in America or did they have any impact at all? was just wondering.

[Scruffy Mummy]

Well, I was talking to an outreach worker who has used some of these dolls in London schools and he said the jury was still out on their effectivenss or not. We had some of them around the office and they are very lifelike and cute (when not screaming). He felt that the problem is when they aren't screaming they are very cute and the girls like cuddling them so he thought it might actually have the opposite effect!

[LizzygotDizzy]

Lol! Trust the Americans to overdo it!

And that is just sooo like them, (sorry just called to mind the many sketches and exchanges between the American Guy played by Kevin Kline and John Cleese and Michael Palin in "A fish called Wanda" :)

Sorry completely off topic!

[????]

In contrast to even 20 years ago, there is almost no moral dissaproval - probably a good thing but not without its consequences on behaviour

Plus some rational economic reasons for doing it among those groups (who despite what someone said earlier) that are much more likely to be teenage mums (the poor and uneducated).

Plus children give a great deal of meaning to your life whatever class, creed, race etc you are so if you have little aspirations or can't see opportunities to fullfill them, a child can help your sense of worth.

Plus in some areas it's almost 'normal' behaviour so peer pressure

[*Bob*]

???? Wrote:

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> Plus children give a great deal of meaning to your

> life whatever class, creed, race etc you are so if

> you have little aspirations or can't see

> opportunities to fullfill them, a child can help

> your sense of worth.

This is spot on.

The other (less generous) of the same point is that it gives those people who can't be bovvered the perfect excuse not to be bovvered on a more long term basis.

"Yeah I did have all these big plans, but I'm going to be a Mum now so I guess I just won't have the chance to see if I could make them work."

[gerry]

So, does the system encourage/discourage teen pregnancies? I would have to say ......it does both. On one hand it provides a safety net for teens who have genuinely found themselves in a difficult position, with no extended family to help them, and helps them get back on their feet. On the other, it allows teens to leave home, get a flat, become mothers, reap the benefits of the system without a stigma attached. What is best for the baby? Did I summarise this accurately? I am not trying to be harsh, but I think teens need to have both sides of the picture clearly explained to them before they make a decsion. As parents, do we do that?

[paragon]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article720407.ece

On second reflection looking at the related stories is also a bit depressing.

[LizzygotDizzy]

Spot on Gerry, totally agree with you, while there has to be a safety net to help out those in genuine need and those who are more vulnerable in our society, there are way more people taking advantage of it. Just to slightly come off subject but the same sort of thing, it is the same with immigration. There are those who are genuinely vulnerable and who are real genuine asylum seekers who need as much help and assistance as they can get, but there are also an awful lot of illegal immigrants and fake asylum seekers who take advantage of that same system and who come here more as economic migrants as they see it as being a better way of life here.

(heads for the hills, ducks down with shield in place over head for barrage of abuse about to fly for mentioning the "I" word!)

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

I'm not even going to comment on the money drain on everyone at every level in every country of the world, that all heads up towards the bastards at the top, where they all sit on their fat greedy arses, getting richer and richer while laughing their tits off and watching the plebs tear each other appart over the remaining dwindling resources.

[KalamityKel]

*passes round the rum bottle*

[ChavWivaLawDegree]

Give us a swig

[KalamityKel]

my my Chav if that's wot u call a swig I'd dread to think wot a gulp was ;-)

[citizenED]

???? said "Plus children give a great deal of meaning to your life whatever class, creed, race etc you are so if you have little aspirations or can't see opportunities to fullfill them, a child can help your sense of worth."

???? you have summed it up concisely. I was going to use the simple word "love" to explain teenage pregnancy. When I look into the eyes of my two little boys and am filled with joy, I can understand the urge for anyone to have a child.