What can be done to decrease the rate of teen pregnancy?

Question

Sex education in schools has proven to be ineffective in reducing the teen pregnancy rate. Many people believe that teenagers are going to experiment with sex no matter what they are taught at home and in school. If we assume that teens WILL have sex anyway, what can we do to prevent them from becoming pregnant? Is there some kind of social or educational program that could effectively address this problem?

Assumptions:
1. Some parents will educate their children about sex, but many will not.
2. Some teens will choose abstinence - these are not the target.
3. Abortion is not to be included in any of the proposed options - for the purpose of focusing the discussion on the other options.

Answer 1

How about getting Parents involved in their childrens lives again.. So many parents are single parents or working parents that they leave their kids alone all day and are too tired or lazy to interact with them later.
Kids think, why should my parents care if I have sex, clearly they must think i'm responsible if they leave me all alone by myself all of the time.
I know kids will make their own choices, but it is the parents that need to be involved in what their children are learning. If a parent is well respected and loved by their child, they will pay more attention to the parent and actually take into consideration the point that they are trying to make.
If the assumption is that kids will have sex anyways, then I think the parents should arm them with the proper protection and educate them about that protection and why they are giving it to them.
I don't think social or educational programs have been helpful so far to decrease the rate of teen pregnancy's. I still beleive it is the active involvement of a parent that will help keep the rate down. But unfortunatley, there are so many parents out there who don't really care, so I don't see the rate dropping any time soon.
This is why I am thankful that so many older women in their late 30's or 40's getting pregnant. They have the life experience, and the wisdom to share. They also know the importance of raising children properly and know better how to feed their children wisdom!

Answer 2

Parents can prevent this by spending more time with their children, and knowing where they are at all times. It doesnt pay to allow your children to go spend the night over friends houses when you are not friends with the parents of these kids. Also the idea of under aged dating is a joke, and every parent should have a rule that 18 is the age for dating, and the age for moving out if you dont like house rules. And sorry but parents who agree to take on responsibility for their teens unplanned pregnancy, are really not doing their teen any favors in the long run. All you will do is invite more unplanned pregnancies because there will never be any serious consequences to prevent the teen from engaging in unprotected sex.

Answer 3

In 1960, only 15% of teen births occurred outside of marriage,
in 1991, 69% occurred outside of marriage (Child Trends, Inc. Jan. 1994).
As of a few years ago, 71% of teenage pregnancies are to children of single parents. Daughters of single parents are 2.1 times more likely to have children during their teenage years than are daughters from intact families. Daughters of single parents are 164% more likely to have a premarital birth.

My answer, based on the above information is to increase the likelihood that families will reman intact as families by lowering the divorce rate, which is a whole 'nuther discussion that space and time do not permit for this question.

Answer 4

Make every 13 year old girl look after one of those life-like doll babies or a real baby if possible, for a few days. Make her responsible for all it's needs. Once they realise what hard work it is looking after a baby, they'll get over the whole "isn't she cute" thing, and take more responsibility and care with their contraception. Yes, they are going to have sex, but they'll be a darn lot more careful once they've had a taste of dirty nappies and baby spew. I would have been heaps more careful as a teen if I knew then how hard a job it was. I got lucky, and didn't have mine until I was 24, and even then it was tough!

Answer 5

There is absolutely no excuse for an unwanted pregnacy with all of the birth control options that are available. I put a large part of the blame on males who complain that a condom doesnt feel right or the lame excuse that they are sterile. Women in love or lust will buy all of this crap and the results are always predictible. Perhaps this should be approached from the phychological point of view regarding the differences between men and women mentally. Women should be made aware that there is no good reason to trust what a man may tell them or for not using contraception. I made the decision that when my daughter turned 15, she was started on birth control pills and her mother and I gave her the talk about the traps that these sperm donors set for these naive teenage girls.

Answer 6

Bring on the Belt!!! Seriously we the parents have to meet everyone our kids encounter. You have to know your children friends, and everyone who is calling your house. Be a parent, your daughters don't have to talk on the phone with boys. (It's your house, you pay the rent) You do have to talk to your kids about sex, and how a mistake can mess up their life. We should be explaining to our kids why its best to not have sex. Instead of giving them condoms. But talk to them about the dieases out there and why its safe to wait until marriage.

Don't ever tell your kids to get an abortion, if the do come up pregnant. A loving parent would not do that. You didn't do it, so why make them. That baby didn't ask to come.

I think most of these parents are giving up on their kids, parents are young and single now, and want to party and date many men all the time. So therefore the daugter and son follow what they see their parents doing.

We have to be better parents!!!!

Answer 7

Stop trying to convince teens that sex and procriation are seperable. The more teens understand that sex is man's form of procriation, the more they will be aware of the chance pregnancy.

Answer 8

Actually this matter is a social problem and should be increase the morality among the society.

Answer 9

I think exposure to things like watching a child birth or spending time in a nursery with a bunch of screaming babies with dirty diapers would be a good deterrent.

Answer 10

I say we bring back the idea of if you get pregnant, you get married. I think it will scare enough kids to think harder. In HS kids don't really believe "it will happen to me." That sad little reality always comes after "how did this happen to me?" So tell them they have to marry whoever the get pregnant with.