I think I have the solution to teen pregnancy. It's very simple. All parents need to do is be more open-minded about their teenage daughters being sexually active. I know that may seem like a impossible thing to do for some people, especially those with small girls right now. Believe me, I know what all mothers and fathers out there think. They can't imagine the thought of their little baby ever being sexually active. I'm sure I'll feel that way too when I have kids one day. But sex isn't going away. Whether we want them to or not, teenage girls are going to have sex. As much as parents like to think they have their teenage daughter under control, they don't. By telling a teenage girl she can't have sex, it only makes her want to do it more because she was told not to. If parents would simply open their eyes and see that sex is an inevitable thing in today's society, the teen pregnancy rate would be far lower.

My mom realized that sex was inevitable. When I turned 14 she sat me down and she said, "Sierra, I know you're going to have sex one day and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. But when you're ready to have sex, tell me and I'll put you on some kind of birth control." Because she didn't tell me I couldn't have sex, I didn't immediately go out and try to do it. I waited and when I told her I was ready, she put me on birth control.

Now some may say "But the teenage girl doesn't need her parents' permission to get birth control. She can get it herself."

This is true, but if the teenager knows that her parents don't want her having sex, she won't go and get the birth control because she'll be afraid her parents will find out whether it be from the doctor or finding the pills in her room.

Okay. I told my theory. What do you guys think? You think this method would work? If not, give your own method for solving teen pregnancy. No flames please.

Open-mindedness is a good thing, yet not all teenagers have parents or a home to live in.
A kid living on the streets will whistle out any talk on that matter. Or most of them seem to. Not saying that's what they actually think.
I have no solution.
I don't think there is one.
Human behaviour can't be controlled.

An open mind is generally a good mind to have. If I had a daughter, I'd probably do something similar to what your mother did with you. However, I've seen the side effects of many of these contraceptives and I don't like them. Another thing that I would do is just do what my parents did...I don't really know actually what they did. Whatever they did, my sister and I are both still pure I suppose you could say. I should ask about that. Communication is always good. I'd probably communicate to her boyfriend that he better not do anything that he will regret. All men are bas**** and this is coming from a man. Okay, not all men, just most men.

I don't think the problem is because of that. I think that it starts with the basic morals ... if you don't have the morals then what's holding you back?

NotJon : Yeah I understand what you mean about the contraceptives. There's always a risk involved in taking birth control whether it be small or large. I know I've gained about 30 pounds since I started my Depo. But you need to pick the lesser of the two evils. The chance of a girl developing a major disorder due to birth control is far less than the chance of her getting pregnant if she's not on it.

I completely agree with you.

My parents did not try and stop me, my mom told me to do what felt best for me. I do not regret having a boyfriend at fifteen. My mom trusted me to not do anything stupid or anything emotionally damaging that I would regret. My mom took me to the doctor and I got birth control. That attitude of my parents and their trust in me made my attitude a lot more healthy and I was able to make choices for myself. (And while I do think it is important to communicate with your parents about it I don't feel the need to kiss and tell... Like I said, they trust me.)

I am not a fan of hormonal contraceptives, but for a lot of people that is a much better solution than being pregnant or sexually frustrated/repressed with their partner. I am currently on artificial hormones but I would like to switch to IUD. As for side effects, I got none.

XxChaosxX : I wasn't referring to the weight gain, I was referring to the thoughts of suicide, depression, etc. I wouldn't want her to feel that.

I agree, parents should be getting involved and talking to their children about being sexually active. I also think that not only girls should be talking to their mothers/trusted adult, but boys talking to their fathers/mothers/trusted adult as well.

I say 'trusted adult' because there is quite often cases in where the parents haven't kept on talking to their child, so by the time they get to their teens they dont feel comfortable talking to their own parents about it. My younger brother never listened to my mum because he didn't feel comfortable tmalking about sex with her. So he came to me.

my sister is on birth control since she was 14 but only when she has a boyfriend, yea so she got raped and got pregnant, f***ing awesome. The kicker is my supposed friend at the time did it he was in jail for like 6 months. I did 3 on danged traffic violations. I'm not sure which doctor killed that baby but the whole situation just confused the hell otta me, but my sister moved over it all nicely so what can I do, I just say, nevermind, cuz well kids read this. Bottom line though if she hadn't been smart enough to talk with our mother and go on birth control at that time u know otherwise she probably woulda popped out like 3 kids already, women in college whatcha gonna do?

Yes sex education actually should start very early, it starts with understanding one's body and it's body part names (like penis and vagina instead of an euphemism).

The second is teens and the young need to understand the implications about sex, not just pregnancy but STDs and how to prevent problems, but especially asking themselves if they are really to be intimate and what it means to be ready emotionally.

Thirdly, somehow we need to find out why our children are going through puberty to early! 100 years ago the average age was 16-17 for girls to reach menarche, not 9-11 like it is now, this is very disturbing and in our human history menarche was meant to start far later then today. We are not doing our children right by not addressing this important health issue, teens should not have to deal with puberty on top of a mind that is changing in dramatic ways.

Look, all of our actions have cociguinces. No matter what we do. If she has a kid, it's her desion, same why around. But she will have her life ruind by it. And also if you live with your parents THEY GOVERN YOU!

Personally I agree with XxChaosxX. If we want to see a major decline in teen pregnancy we must introduce this topic to them early. Not only the females, but the males too.

My mom did the same for me she was on my facebook and saw me talking to some friends about me and a guy that I liked and she talked to me about it I don't plan to go out and have sex for a long time.

I saw of lot in my Highschool, and I have friends who have kids right out of Highschool I mean i hate to sound cuel here But why can't people just enjoyed life then thinking about having kids & life when your 25, stop trying to Rush the Milestones of life.

Me personailly in five or ten years, I don't want to have kids

NotJon : I know what you meant. I was just giving an example of a side effect I've had. I know that there are risks for depression and suicidal thoughts, but those are not very likely to occur. In fact, when I asked my doctor about the side effects, she told me that the chance of me developing life-changing disorders from the birth control was maybe one chance in 1000. Like I said, a girl is way more likely to become pregnant without birth control than she is to develop depression, suicidal thoughts, etc while she's on the contraceptive.

Different people have different reactions to drugs. My friend has been prone to depression before so I wouldn't want her to take a chance. They should have better contraceptives for men. You ladies have all the cool ones.

I just want to make the point again that based on personal experience, Depo is bad for you. Very bad. Switch now.

My parents never talked to me. Ever. Not until long afterwards and it caused a lot of problems, so I have to agree with Chaos and a lot of the rest of you, talking does wonders because it insures they don't go sneaking behind parents backs. I also think that sex education should be mandatory in schools, none of this opting out bs, because more often than not the parents that don't want their kids taught that don't talk to them about it either... they think if they ignore it that it will never be a problem, or that if they badmouth it that it will scare the kids into not trying it. Guess what, human nature and overwhelming statistics prove them wrong. My folks at least made sure I took the classes, but there were a lot of kids at my school they ended up parents before graduation.

Children these days are part of a society that has lost it's morality and common sense. I'm afraid nothing will stop teenage pregnancies, or even slow it down, short of changing ideologies. Girls must be encouraged to be open about sex, but understand that it's not something they have to do. It needs to be taken seriously again, but the media and today's parents treat it like it's not a big deal. People need to realize that sex isn't a game that we do just for fun...it can have lasting consequences. And even if she doesn't get pregnant, there could be other consequences both physical and psychological. We need to start treating our girls like children again and protect them from the bad messages out there. Boys need to be taught that girls aren't objects and visa versa, because I see boys being objectified now too. Unfortunately, the media has a huge part of the blame.

You know I hate to say this But I blame MTV for most of the
Teen Pregnacies, Shows like the real world, teen mom, 16& pregnet,
That Network has made kids grow up way to fast, and people thought
that Cartoons beavis and butthead and Grunge music area on mtv
were the lowiest that mtv could sink or Sunk, the 90's on mtv
are a cake walk compare to Now..

Middlemoor : You cannot put the monster back in the box it escaped from, nor would the teenagers let you. You also just contradicted yourself saying girls should be open about sex yet at the same time we should start treating them like little kids again. So which is it, encourage them to be open or keep them in the dark?