Teen Baby Trend | Teen Ink

Teen Baby Trend MAG

By Anonymous

Does today’s generation glamorize teenage pregnancy? About four in ten girls become pregnant before age 20. Annually, about 900,000 teenage pregnancies occur nationally – approximately 52 pregnancies per hour. Almost 40 percent of young mothers haven’t reached the age of 18 when they become pregnant.

An epidemic. How could something like teenage pregnancy ever become so popular that it’s considered an epidemic? Of course we all know the obvious reason for pregnancy, but one perplexing question is why aren’t teens being more ­responsible? One would think that young adults would know enough to be careful. However, not using protection isn’t always the cause of teenage pregnancy.

Surprising as it may seem, some teenage girls may choose to get pregnant because they don’t see any life goals within their reach other than motherhood. Some may be seeking the unconditional love of a child. Or maybe a young woman believes that having her boy­friend’s baby will make him want to stay with her. However, nearly 80 percent of these fathers do not marry the mother of their children.

Sadly, an intended pregnancy doesn’t hold the advantages that young people believe it will. I believe another cause is something many desire and thrive on: ­attention. Attention can cause a big (but false) boost in self-esteem. It provides a temporary happiness that is addictive for some.

If you pick up any magazine like People, Star, or Us Weekly, you are pretty much guaranteed to find at least one article about a pregnant celebrity. Millions and millions of people fawn over these stars. When celeb mommies spill the details about their ­little soon-to-be bundles of joy, people seek to emulate their glamorous lives.

One of the most popular confessional pieces in the ­media recently was about a famous teenage mother: Jamie Lynn Spears. She starred in “Zoey 101” – a popular Nickelodeon show among both tweens and little tykes – for only three seasons before she leaked to OK! magazine about her “surprising and shocking” pregnancy with her older boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.

For months, Jamie was on baby watch. Paparazzi followed her around begging for comments and pictures of her and her developing baby-bump. Every tabloid had something to say about Spears’s unborn child, and most of the articles were positive accounts of the support she was ­receiving from her parents and how she and Aldridge were planning to marry.

Another recent, highly public teenage pregnancy was that of Bristol Palin, daughter of Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin. The young lady’s secret was apparently not so secret in the close-knit Alaskan town where the Palin family lives. When the rest of the country found out, even more news coverage focused on the family.

Very public incidents like these impact regular teens. Not all blame should be placed on the media, however. Schools deserve some of the fault. Some have been known to enact “Bring Your Kids to School Day.” If that’s not encouraging young people to get pregnant, I don’t know what is. Think of all the attention a teen mother would receive as classmates ask about the silly behaviors of her little mini-me.

When it comes down to it, most people sympathize with young moms and commend them for toughing it out and taking care of their babies. But teenage pregnancy has been made into something it is not. It has been glamorized like a new, expensive pair of shoes. Teens may think they are ready, that all a baby requires is someone to feed it and change it every once in a while. Teaching sex education at schools isn’t enough anymore. Today’s teens must be taught the responsibilities that go along with raising a kid. Someone needs to stop children from having children of their own.



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This article has 137 comments.


jan1gs said...
on Feb. 23 2015 at 10:00 am
It's both of their faults for engaging in sex

AriShine GOLD said...
on Jun. 26 2012 at 6:49 pm
AriShine GOLD, Norcross, Georgia
13 articles 0 photos 130 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Whatever you are, be a good one." -Abraham Lincoln

If I may: "epidemic" can also mean a nationwide negative trend. Yes, the word fits the article perfectly.

on Dec. 11 2011 at 6:54 am
Unicornsandelephants, Chertsey, Other
0 articles 12 photos 20 comments

Favorite Quote:
the higher you climb the further you have to fall

I agree. If anything this was a representation of opinion, everyone has the right to an opinion, definatly not judging

on Dec. 11 2011 at 2:11 am
Kingdom_of_the_Forgotten GOLD, Ogden, Utah
12 articles 0 photos 29 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Time, the cradle of hope.... Wisdom walks before it, opportunity with it, and repentance behind it: he that has made it his friend will have little to fear from his enemies, but he that has made it his enemy will have little to hope from his friends." ~Charles Caleb Colton

I, personally, don't think the word "epidemic" fits this article. Having babys doesn't, under normal circumstances, kill the mother. Again, this is only my opinion. On a happier note, this was very well written and I can understand your point.

on Nov. 19 2011 at 10:59 pm
IAmWhoIWantToBe PLATINUM, Manila, Other
41 articles 0 photos 650 comments

Favorite Quote:
‎"I’m learning how to drown out the constant noise that is such an inseparable part of my life. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world: I run my world." - Beyoncé

I wish I could have written something as great and true as this for our school newspaper.

irishlass317 said...
on Nov. 19 2011 at 12:27 pm
irishlass317, Jefferson City, Missouri
0 articles 0 photos 134 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I asked Jesus 'How much do you love me?' He answered 'This much.' And He streched out His arms and died."

Very good point. I totally agree. Kudos to you for speaking up!!

on Nov. 19 2011 at 9:15 am
*who's* my bad

on Nov. 19 2011 at 9:14 am
to be honest, it really depends on the circumstances of the pregnany to say whose at fault. in some cases, its neither of the teenages fault, but in some cases, its both equally. and then of course, it could be more the girls fault, of more the boys. but like i said, it all depends

on Nov. 3 2011 at 9:39 am
Sacrifice SILVER, Fostoria, Iowa
6 articles 0 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
"One life is all we have to live, and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without beleif, that is a fate worse than death" ~Joan of Arc

bull puckey. it is the guys fault just as much as the girl's. HE MADE A CHOICE TOO! just because it doesn't SHOW on him, doesn't mean he shouldn't have to take responceability for the fact that he willing submitted to this as well. Plus, by suggesting that the man is not at fault shows how ignorant you are. What about a rape victim? How would you treat someone like that? "It's your fault that you're pregnent because the person that you, in your words, "did the dirty deed with" decided not to use protection?

on Oct. 28 2011 at 7:47 am
RedFeather GOLD, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 155 comments

Favorite Quote:
Prose is like walking but poetry is like dancing.
—Paul Valery, poet (1871 - 1945)

What is this world coming to? After all the hard work that women put into fighting to get us equal rights as men so that we WOULDN'T be valued as just the way to make more sons for husbands that we were married off to, now girls are just throwing themselves around and undoing all that work! Shame! Shame! Shame! SHAME!

on Oct. 28 2011 at 7:44 am
RedFeather GOLD, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 155 comments

Favorite Quote:
Prose is like walking but poetry is like dancing.
—Paul Valery, poet (1871 - 1945)

Absolutely! There are too many players out there who just try to take what they want from who they want whenever they want without ever thinking about what the effects will be!

I'm planning on never haveing my own kids. If I ever decide that I want to raise children, I'm going to adopt - there are too many young children that don't have parents and never recieve the parenting that they need.


on Oct. 28 2011 at 7:40 am
RedFeather GOLD, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 155 comments

Favorite Quote:
Prose is like walking but poetry is like dancing.
—Paul Valery, poet (1871 - 1945)

I have to take that later on in the school year, and I am not looking forwards to it. I already know enough about "how it works" from the w h o r e s talking about it in the hallways so loud that you can hear them in the classrooms! (And the teachers do absolutly nothing about it!) I am not looking forwards to it at all. I know more than I think I need, and I'm not planning on doing it any time soon. I've never even kissed a boy before, I don't need to know about going all the way!

on Oct. 28 2011 at 7:34 am
RedFeather GOLD, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
12 articles 0 photos 155 comments

Favorite Quote:
Prose is like walking but poetry is like dancing.
—Paul Valery, poet (1871 - 1945)

Holy #@%$! An eigth grader with her second child?!?!?!?! Even greater &#$@ #@%$! A fricking fifth grader?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I'm in eigth and I just had my first (period) last month! I'm small and I've been glad to push that off this long. I've been dreading this much since puberty, and now everyone around me is throwing their virginity out the window like a dirty kleenex if they haven't already! This is so messed up! As for me, I like my virginity-alot. We'll definately be sticking together for a LONG time.

(Really? A fricking FIFTH GRADER?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?!?!!)


on Oct. 28 2011 at 6:34 am
Look, people. It is way more the girl's fault than the guy's. The girl should be responsible for her own body. She should go on the pill or force her boyfriend to wear a condom if they are going to be 'doing the dirty deed'. There is no excuse.

on Aug. 23 2011 at 4:04 pm
I agree- girls shouldn't be COMPLETELY blamed, especially seeing as a girl on the bad side of the teen baby crisis would have it a lot harder than a boy.

bonez2k12 said...
on Aug. 1 2011 at 4:22 pm
bonez2k12, St.thomas, Other
0 articles 1 photo 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"What don't kill me can only make me stronger"

sometimes it's planned, but other times it was a mistake i.e. condom broke, or unfortunately, they were raped

 


on Aug. 1 2011 at 3:06 pm
samanthastephens2 SILVER, Sellersburg, Indiana
9 articles 5 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy". They told me I didn’t understand the assignment.
I told them they didn’t understand life." John Lennon

I don't feel that saying it's the boy's fault is true. Yes, he deserves partial blame, but it comes down to the girl's decision. She frank with the subject and it was well written. Being honest isn't offensive.

MKimmi said...
on Jun. 23 2011 at 3:21 pm
MKimmi, NY, New York
0 articles 0 photos 103 comments
Like everything else, the future shall always repeat the past. Nearly everything is like that.

aaliona SILVER said...
on Jun. 19 2011 at 2:17 pm
aaliona SILVER, Spencer, Iowa
5 articles 2 photos 16 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Morning is a new sheet of paper for you to write on." ~Eve Merriam

I feel very similar. Some girls do want the attention or a child, but many are more realistic. That statistic of 4 out of 10 teen girls seems really high. At my school, we had 5 girls get pregnant this year. That is a lot, but our school has over 500 students. That's more like 1 out of 100, instead of the 40 your statistic says.

on Jun. 18 2011 at 10:32 pm
Sacrifice SILVER, Fostoria, Iowa
6 articles 0 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
"One life is all we have to live, and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without beleif, that is a fate worse than death" ~Joan of Arc

I found your article elequently and passionately written. :)

However, I did notice that you focused on all the problems, but offered no ideas or solutions. And I find t personally offensive as a teeenage grl that you placed the brunt of the blame on the pregnate teens themselves, as opposed to the boys who impregnated them.

Just some thoughts.

~Caitlyn