I hate it Kids think that they are invincible and will never have a child when they have sex with their partners

What are your views on teenage pregnancy?

I hate it too. They should at least wear a condom. It's like they just day dreamed while they were being taught this stuff. It makes them look stupid(Which they probably are, having S** without wearing a condom when they're teenagers.)

Rant over.

If they're married, than yeah, it fine. But I doubt that. So no, they should not get pregnant, let alone have sex in the first place!

teens are going to have sex regardless of what people do or say.... what we need is a way to get them to have safe sex. If my experience is anything like the average person then there are a lot of people having unprotected sex out there.

I think that while trying to reduce teenage pregnancy we also need to provide more support for teen mothers. I'm willing to bet that the children from teen mothers have a lot more problems growing up than kids from a 2 parent home where kids were had when the parents were ready.

It's their choice if they want a baby that young and if its a mistake then hopefully they will learn their lesson

Most teenagers would not find themselves able to support a child. How many teenage mothers have a good paying job or a job at all? How often does the father deny that the baby is his child or just run off? Many of the teenagers today don't take responsibility for their actions nor do they think of the long term consequences of such actions.

I remember my Health/Sex Ed class in middle school. The teacher joked around too much, played movies mostly, and sometimes just flat out lied about certain information. He even lied about the effectiveness of condoms. I believe he said that they only work 73% of the time.

A lot of things need to be done to improve sex ed, seeking out unfit parents, and punishment for the parents who don't do their part in supporting the child.

I don't believe in letting them make a mistake. If some of these individuals were properly raised and educated, this wouldn't be such a problem.

For the most part I think its highly unlikely to be able to raise a kid in a stable environment if you're still a teenager. I have multiple friends that had kids in their teenage years and at that time none of them could even support themselves let alone a child.

This whole issue is very ridiculous. These kind of problems weren't as bad in the 50's. Parents need to teach a lot more on abstinence than anything else. I believe it all comes own to the decline of morals.

Oh man, do I hate that. They're basically just tempting fate. I know a girl who's 14 and has had sex twice (She's lucky she's not pregnant) Sometimes it just takes getting someone pregnant for them to learn the lesson.

I agree with Geeogree on this 100%

And actually, Hoochman, the teen birthrate was at its highest in the 1950s, people just didn't talk about it

http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/pdf/TBR_1940-2006.pdf

Having babies was glamorized in the 50s, the whole "American family" ideal that caused the baby boom. Girls were taught that their greatest purpose after high school was to marry and have kids immediately. There were a lot that did not wait, especially not with so many handsome soldiers around coming home from WWII and Korea.

For example, my dad was born in '53 when my grandma was 17 and just barely graduated from high school.

yeah.... the REAL problem now isn't so much that teens are getting pregnant... because they were doing it in higher numbers in the 50's.... but that the fathers aren't stepping up like they used to.

Though I think the fathers in a lot of the cases in the 50's were older and more mature than the guys who are getting girls pregnant today.

Elara, It was not higher in the 50's, it was at an all time low a half a century ago depending on the pregnancy.

I think teen pregnancy can be easily prevented by parents simply being more open with their children. By parents telling thier sons and daughters that they can't have sex, it makes them want to do it just because their parents told them 'no'. My mother came to me when I turned 13 and said, 'You're going to have sex one day and I know there's not a damn thing I can do about it. So I want you to come to me when you're ready and I will get you on some birth control.' Because my mom didn't tell me I couldn't have sex, I didn't want to as badly. So when I was ready I got the birth control and guess what? I'm not pregnant. I know it's really hard for a parent to accept that their little girl or boy is going to have sex, but in this day and age it's become so acceptable that most teenagers want to do it. So rather than tell them they can't have sex and risk them going behind their backs and doing it, parents need to accept the fact that their son/daughter is going to have sex and give them options to protect themselves. Teenagers aren't very likely to go to the clinic and get birth control or go to the store and buy condoms unless they're given some direction.

Okay rant done.

As long as they have a way to make sure the baby is cared for I don't really care if they have one or not.
geeogree : I agree, more dads need to step up and actually be dads to their kids.

I agree with XxChaosxX here. Just be honest with your kids about it, and let them be honest with you. My parents weren't honest with me about birth control or sex(luckily I was paranoid enough to use condoms and other birth control methods even though I doubted their effectiveness) and I still don't trust my parents about anything. I would never go to my parents for advice, because I know they wouldn't really listen and only make me feel like an idiot or sinner for feeling something I have no control over.

Instead of raging at kids(who are, after all, only kids), rage at their parents.