Teen Pregnancy?

Question

I do not want this to sound demeaning to anyone who reads this but this baffles me!

There are so many young girls on this board who ask if they may be pregnant because they missed there period for the month or they are a few days late. This is all normal when your cycle is changing but yes, you may also be pregnant which brings me to my next question; what about protection? The spread of STD’s? I have an 8 year old daughter & I want to teach her to be safe & smart when the time comes. I understand a lot of young girls don’t want to talk to there parents about this stuff but wouldn’t one think that parents would sit with there kids & teach them about aids, & every other disease that’s out there today? I just feel so bad for these young girls who have sex at such a young age; 12 & 13 is way too young! Physically & emotionally…. Just my 2 cents I guess….

Answer 1

man i know wat u mean. God did not create girls to be off having sex and getting pregnant at like 14. hell why are girls even bothering with sex. they shouldnt even be in the situation of thinking that they are pregnant. and i really do agree that parents should really sit down and have a good talk to there kids about how serious STD'S are and that having sex at such a young age isnt such a great thing.
staying a virgin til you are married isnt a bad thing. me and my boyfriend have agreed to do so and that way we dont have to worry bout me getting pregnant or any of that while we are still young.
its good to see that we have people on yahoo answers putting this across! :)

Answer 2

Believe it or not, new studies reveal that kids today are not having sex any younger than they were 10 or 20 years ago. It's sad that some kids go at it way before they are ready, but on a whole not a ton of kids are having sex at 12 and 13. Most people have their first sexual experience between the ages of 15 and 19, and that's not talking about intercourse, it's talking about all types of sexual experiences (and most people don't start out with intercourse).

The study also says that STD's are IN NO WAY RELATED to the number of sexual partners a person has, but instead is directly related to the amount of EDUCATION a person has on the subject of protection.

So that's the ticket, sit down with your daughter and teach her to wait, and that when she decides the time is right to always use protection no matter what until after she is married and ready to start her family.

About me: 22 year old male who works with boys and girls ages 10-12 every year at Summer Camp. I am currently still in college and double majoring in Elementary Education and Psychology.

Answer 3

I don't get it either. How can they even want to have sex when they are so young. I think kids should be having sex at a young age and becoming a mommy by the time they turn 16. It is really sad how they are forced to grow up cause they had/have a baby when they are babies themselves and just don't realize that at all. I just think that if they are going to have sex they should be on birth control and use condoms. Come on how hard is it to do that? I put myself on birth control when i was 16 when i decided i was old enough and could handle what comes with sex.

I plan on teaching my child better because i think kids thinks that they won't get pregnant or catch some bad disease.

I think that having babies while in your teens 13 to 19 is just wrong. Why not live your life as a teen as long as you can instead of being a mom at 15.

Answer 4

I completely and totally agree with you. i would say that most teens should probably keep there private parts private but they dont. Honestly as a parent i would suggest getting your daughter on the pill when she turns starts dating. If she asks why give her the talk. That the pill isnt 100% effective and that she should use a condom too if she wants to have sex and leave it at that. Leave the conversation open so she feels like she can talk to you but dont push her. 17 magazine had a pretty good section on sex and how parents should talk to there kids about sex. You may want to pick it up and shove the article somewhere for a few more years. Good luck with your daughter. Raising kids is hell today....but you seem like a good mother and i wish you the best

Answer 5

It's frightening how many teen pregnancies there are. I can't say why they are doing it, or what they are thinking, but I can say "where are the parents?"!!! I have a 12 (almost 13) year old. I've been talking to her about sex for a few years now. At least once a month I sit with her over tea and we talk about it. She asks questions, I answer, and vise versa. Sometimes she rolls her eyes when I tell her it's time to talk. But we always communicate. I think one mistake parents often make with this subject, is to assume that their children will come to them when they get curious about sex. My mother believed that. But I didn't. So I got pregnant at 18. I was fortunate enough to be with a man who believed in responsibility. We married, and we've been together ever since. Another misconception, is parents have a tendancy to trust their kids too much. My daughter frequently is left in charge of her little brother, while I run to the grocer. But NEVER at this age, will I leave her alone. I know her every move. I know her whereabouts. I'm very selective on whose friends houses she can stay at. And I'm in very close communication with her friends parents. We provide her with a cell phone, so we can always get in touch. I'm strict with her, but she has a lot of priviliages too. The key is to pay attention to your children. Stay involved in their life, even if they don't want you to. My parents never knew any of my friends parent's. They never checked up on me to make sure I really was 'staying at Kelly's house'. I on the other hand, either have the parent pick her up, or I drive her.

Answer 6

I'm just going to add my two cents. I'm also going to let my children about sex and STDs. I'm going to let them know that abstinence is best but that they can come to me when they are ready to get on birth control. I would like you to look at this.

A male condom will get 15/100 people pregnant. This means if a couple only uses a condom to prevent pregnancy and have sex 100 times there is a high probability that 15 of those times the woman will get pregnant.

The birth control pill and patch will get 8 people out of 100 people who use it pregnant. This means if a couple uses birth control pills to prevent pregnancy and then have sex 100 times there is a high probability that 8 of those times the woman will end up pregnant.

If a couple uses a diaphragm and have sex 100 time 16 of those times there is a high probability of her getting pregnant.

The odds are against anyone who has sex--even using protection. While it slims the odds it does not prevent all STDs and pregnancy.

My daughter will be on birth control at sixteen until she leaves my home. If she wants to get on earlier--she can but I want her to at least have a fighting chance at preventing pregnancy.

Answer 7

You know what, I work at a university health service, and a lot of the girls who come in are 18 through 22, and they come in for the morning after pill. What amazes me is the fact that they are more concerned with getting pregnant, and keep saying that they are not ready. Many times I tell them that pregnancy should be the least of their worries because there are worse fates than pregnancy out there. At least with pregnancy, you have more options! They don't seem to realize that some STD's are for life, and the same pregnancy exposure can lead to worse. It is a real shame and it's sad.

Answer 8

teen pregnancy remains a baffling subject. primarily because there are so many facets behind it. the thing that is somewhat concerning to me (as you mentioned) is the prevalence of unprotected sex.

every act of pregnancy (accept for artificial reproductive therapies) requires unprotected sex. as such, there are increased risks to youth who engage in sex, including STDs including HIV and HPV, the virus that causes cervical cancer.

any solution to this will include comprehensive sex education, gender-inclusive instruction (all of the emphasis on teen sex seems to be targeted towards girls. boys tend to receive less punitive educational messages regarding sex.) access to contraception, "emergency contraception" and condoms, open discussions about postponing sex and limited sex partners; and demystifying sex and sexuality.

very often, kids engage in sex for all the wrong reasons. hence it should be no surprise that they experience adverse sexual health outcomes.

also, the epidemic of teen pregnancy is NOT necessarily a "teen issue." many state vital statistic bureaus indicate that a lot of children born to teen mothers have ADULT fathers. romantic relationships with adult male partners strongly correlates with adverse sexual health and mental health outcomes among teen girls.

also, when we see stats of young girls having sex (12, et. al.) we must interpret with caution: many of these girls are being sexually assaulted or are in coersive relationships with older teens and adults.

i think the best thing you can do for your daughter is keep the dialog open.

always encourage healthy sexuality (healthy sexuality does NOT mean having lots of sex; it means understanding that sexuality and sexual feeling are normal and not shaming.), offer information about contraception, condoms, STDs and postponing sexual relationships until she's older and more mature. personally, i'm not totally convinced that marriage is a good end-point. because it basically tells kids (especially girls) that all they need to do is get married and they don't have to ever worry about poor sexual outcomes. this is simply not true all the time.

i think education, advocacy and empowerment are the key.

i'm a health educator/researcher with a discipline in adolescent health. i also write sex education curricula. if you want some tips to speak with your daughter, feel free to email me.

[e-mail]

Answer 9

idk if this will sound weird since im 18 and pregnant but i agree wit u 100%. i didnt start untill i was 16 i kno that is still young but alot of ppl i kno started at like 12 an 13. an i dont get it either. if i could i would take it back. starting at the age i did.

Answer 10

omg i know my sister was only 16 when she lost her virginity, i couldn'tbelieve it either! the schools these days have to have better control on this and know that many guys are "heated" well all they care about is having sex and getting high this is to all the girls out there:

IF YOUR ARE A TEENAGER AND ARE PREGNACT I'M SORRY BUT WHAT ARE YOU THINKING YOU ARE ONLY A KID AND YOUR HAVING A KID!