Teen Pregnancy
KEEPING KIDS FROM HAVING KIDS: PREVENTING TEEN PREGNANCY
THE ISSUE
This May, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that, from 1991 to 1996, the teen birth rate in the United States declined substantially. The decline took place for girls ages 15 to 19 in all racial and ethnic groups. But despite improvements, the U.S. continues to have a teen pregnancy rate more than twice as high as that of any other developed country. Across the nation, programs are working hard to keep kids from having kids; we recently visited Wilmington, NC to show our audience one group that's fighting teen pregnancy with proven success. Find out more about this group, Girls Incorporated, and its centers around the country.
STILL A BIG PROBLEM
THE CONSEQUENCES
Statistics from the American Medical Association and the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
WHAT CAN PARENTS DO?
Just this spring, the National Campaign
to Prevent Teen Pregnancy released the
findings of a new study on sexual behavior
among teens. The study found that teens
want to hear what their parents have to
say about sex, love, and relationships.
And they care what their parents think.
So the National Campaign is offering TEN
TIPS for parents to help them get involved
and keep their kids from having kids.
- Be clear about your own sexual values and attitudes-communicating with your children about sex, love, and relationships is often more successful when you are certain in your own mind about these issues.
- Talk with your children early and often about sex, and be specific! Initiate the conversation and make sure it is a dialogue, not a monologue.
- Supervise and monitor your children by establishing rules, curfews, and standards of expected behavior, preferably through an open process of family discussion.
- Know you children's friends and their families; welcome your children's friends into your home and talk openly to them.
- Discourage early, frequent, and steady dating. Group activities among young people are fine, but allowing teens to begin steady, one-on-one dating much before age 16 can lead to trouble.
- Take a strong stand against your daughter dating a boy significantly older than she is, and don't allow your son to develop an intense relationship with a girl much younger than he is. The power difference between younger girls and older boys or men can lead girls into risky situations.
- Help your teenagers to have options for the future that are more attractive than early pregnancy and parenthood. Help them set meaningful goals for the future, talk to them about what it takes to make future plans come true, and help them reach their goals.
- School failure is often the first sign of trouble; let your kids know that you value education highly.
- Be media literate-know what your kids are watching, reading, and listening to. Remember, you can always turn the TV off, cancel subscriptions, and place certain movies off limits. You may not be able to fully control what your children see and hear, but you can certainly make your views known.
- These first nine tips work best when they are part of strong, close relationships with your children that are built from an early age. Express love and affection clearly and often, listen carefully to what your children say, spend time with your children engaged in activities that they like, be supportive and interested in what interests them, and help them build self-esteem. Remember, it's never too late to improve a relationship with a child or teenager.
HEARD ON TO THE CONTRARY:
TTC PANELISTS TALK ABOUT GIRLS INCORPORATED
"It really does demonstrate that if
we work hard enough at an endemic problem
that seems out of control, we can have
an effect on it."
--Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-Washington,DC
"I like it because the mother comes
with the daughter; I like it because you
start at an early age according to how
[the girls] are developmentally thinking,
to start thinking about your body, and
then about your responsibilities....The
beauty of this is that it shows it's getting
into the girls' heads."
--Dr. Antonia Novello, Former U.S. Surgeon
General
"This is a great program. Abstinence
with sex ed., together, has been shown
time and again in studies to work better
than either one alone."
--Ann Stone, Republicans for Choice
"What concerns me is, what are we doing
for the boys? This is a great, great project
for boys as well. And if it could be replicated
for boys, then you really have a great
[teen pregnancy] prevention program."
--Irene Natividad, National Commission
on Working Women
"The reason I'm not for putting it in
schools is because I don't want it all
mixed up with controversy. But the other
reason is, I want the schools to concentrate
on reading, writing, and arithmetic. You
can only force so much in the schools.
This program is a program that I think
would lure girls on their own. You come,
you talk about sex, you talk about things
you can't talk about anywhere else. They'll
come. Just do it."
--Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton
"Most important, they [at Girls Inc.]
teach them self-esteem, and the notion
that you have a future-that there's something
you should strive for."
--Irene Natividad
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Find out more about the problem of teen
pregnancy and what organizations are doing
to prevent it. Visit the Planned
Parenthood Web site, and go to a selected
list of links to sites on teen pregnancy
programs. Also, find out about the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services'
National
Strategy to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
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