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Actually, Joe raises an interesting point. We've been talking about teenage pregnancy (or more specifically teenage conception) as a problem. As a statistical phenomenon it certainly is problematic. At an individual level, it may or may not be problematic. There are many older parents who simply aren;t cut out to raise children. By the same token there are also teenagers who do a damn fine job of raising healthy happy and loved offspring. For some teens getting pregnant/getting a girl pregnant is a catastrophic event. For others it is a life affirming and enriching experience.
Which is one reason i don't believe in mandating contraception in the way Sundae suggests. I know of girls who wanted to get pregnant by the time they were 15. Sure, that may have been because they were missing unconditional love in their lives (or felt they were) and wanted someone truly theirs; but at least one of them (an old schoolfriend) did get pregnant and frankly blossomed. It gave her life meaning and she hit her schoolwork with a vigour she'd never had before, taking a brief break from her GCSEs to have the baby and, with the help of her mum, attending sixth form college three days a week to get her a-levels. She was a brilliant mum. She went on to have a further two children. By the time they were at an age to need less parenting, she was still young enough to have a career change and go into nursing. Having been a kid with very little confidence, she 'found herself' as a mother.
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11-04-2009, 06:31 PM
Hybrid Mode
