Teens and Pregnancy

As a mother I worry about teen pregnancies. I have two daughters and they're both entering their teens and let me just say this, I'm scared to death! There's so many dangers out there for a parent to worry about. When I was a teen the big danger was driving, that was about it. Now, I have to worry about cell phones and ipods while driving. The fact there's too many other cars on the road these days. Predators on the internet. Teaching them to understand how to protect themselves is a job that never ends. Each day I hear about something else that gives me nightmares. This time it's the 'Pregnancy Pact'. Now, authorities aren't sure if this is really true, they're investigating the matter. Of course magazines and newspapers already ran with it. Check out one article here, where you can see a bit more of the truth.

Either way, it doesn't really matter, the fact that there are so many teens getting pregnant is the real issue. When I was 17 I admit, I was still just a baby. My mom still cooked me breakfast every morning. Hell, I was in no way ready for a family. To take care of a tiny being when I couldn't even support myself. A 17 year old shouldn't have to support themselves. They're still learning how to do that. I want my girls to go to college, get a job they love, be able to have enough money so that when the do have kids it won't be a scary burden, it'll be a blessing, which is as it should be.

My girls came at a time in my life when I was ready and eager to have kids. It was a wonderful moment when I first learned I was pregnant. But I've seen this more and more frequently, kids having kids. One girl in our neighborhood has three kids, she started when she was a junior in high school and her mother takes care of all three of them while she barely comes around to see them. And that's not really a unique situation either. I thank God for their grandmother, at least those kids have some stability in their tiny lives. But at some point I have to say to teenagers who get pregnant then leave their parents to raise their babies, if you're old enough to have them, then you should be old enough to take care of them. The babies shouldn't suffer because of your poor planning.

In my opinion, if you're parents are still supporting YOU then you have no business having unprotected sex and bringing on the huge responsibility of children.

So now I turn the matter over to you. How do you feel about kids having kids? Do you think there's a solution? Does some of this go back to lack of discipline in the home? Are parents dropping the ball? Or are kids just getting more bold, more careless? I'm just throwing things out in an effort to get to the root of the problem. Nothing can be fixed until we understand the 'why'.