Social Justice Issue

I think teen pregnancy is perhaps one of the greatest social injustices of our time.

In Hamilton country 690 teen girls became pregnant in 2007. While Tennessee is one of the few states that continues to see a decrease in teen pregnancies, there are still far too many teens getting pregnant.

A recent study published by the Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy indicates that:
a child born to a teen mothers has a 27 percent chance of growing up in poverty. If the teen mother is not married at the time of the birth of the child, which most of them are not, the chances of the child growing up in poverty increase to 42 percent. If the teen mother does not graduate from high school or get her GED (Two-thirds of teen moms do not graduate from high school) the child will likely spend 64 percent of his life in poverty.

In contrast - if none of these things happen, a child's chances of growing up in poverty is only 7 percent.

Playing around with sex is like playing with fire, except the person playing fire isn't the only one who gets burned. We have a lot of babies raising babies. This is a huge problem.

I think the best news is there are things we can do to make a difference.

Teens can break the cycle and choose abstinence.

Parents can talk to their teens about the real facts surrounding teen pregnancy. For example,
8 out of 10 teen fathers do not marry the mother of their child.

Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign encourages parents to engage their teens in conversation about the following:
Babies don't cement a relationship, they often put tremendous stress on them.
Babies need to be raised by adults, not children who are still trying to figure things out.
If it happens, it happens is no way to begin a family!

As parents we really have a responsibility to talk with our kids about these issues - even when it feels awkward and uncomfortable and they complain. They may seem smart, but the truth is when it comes to life issues they still need a tremendous amount of guidance.

Raising children in this day and age in more complicated than ever! As a mom of a 17-year-old I am constantly aware of all the craziness of the culture and the messages that are being sent about sex and dating. My goals have been to make sure she has accurate information so she can make wise decisions and to help her see how her decisions today will impact her tomorrow and for years to come.

There are a number of great websites with helpful information. Talk to friends , The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and Live on Point

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month

May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. If you have been paying attention you know that our teens (all of us for that matter) are bombarded with messages about sex 24/7.

The other day I saw a commercial with a scantily clothed celebrity chef sitting on steps sensually eating a hamburger. Honestly, I felt like I was watching soft porn. It is ridiculous what we are exposed to when it comes to sex. No wonder young people are enthralled with it. Which brings me to my point.

A couple of years ago I was talking to the mother of a teenage boy. I was encouraging her to talk with her son about sex. She said she just couldn't, that her mom didn't talk with her and she turned out okay so she saw no reason to talk with her son. Very sad. Unfortunately, I would not say she is the exception to the rule. This is how many parents think about this issue either because they don't think they have enough information or because they had sex as a teen and don't want to seem like a hypocrite.

Messages about sex are in the media much more now than even 5 years ago. With no guidance from parents, many of our teens are left to draw their own conclusions about sex, relationships and dating from what they see and hear. A tremendous amount of the information is just plain WRONG!

Most teens have no clue that messing around with sex is like playing Russian roulette.


For the month of May, First Things First has partnered with On Point and the Girl Scouts to bring awareness to this issue. We have developed a campaign called Is it the right time? Calling into question are the teen years the right time to be focused on a baby or are there other things like education, sports, friendships, their future, etc that should be occupying their time.

You can visit the website at www.isittherighttime.com We have lots of helpful information for teens. Parents can visit the parent's page on firstthings.org to get tips for talking with your teen about sex, the latest research and other resources.

Please help us spread the word. This is an important issue.

Just out of curiosity, did your parents talk with you about sex and healthy dating relationships?