Guests on last night’s Tyra Banks Show included a
pregnant 13-year-old who used to want to be a lawyer, but who now says, without
a tone of regret, that she doesn’t think she’ll make it to college. A 14-year-old who is actively trying to get pregnant said that she believes
that her boyfriend would “probably marry” her if she got pregnant—unless he
decides he doesn’t want to be with her anymore “for some reason.” Perhaps that
reason could be going to college instead of continuing to mow lawns to support
his family? This teenager also said that she wants a baby because she thinks
baby showers are just so “fun and adorable!” Tyra wisely reminded her that a
baby shower lasts for two hours.
I’d like to pass the topic of this show off as one of those sensational trends
that gets a lot of media coverage but doesn’t necessarily reflect real life. But the fact is, one in three teenage girls
will become pregnant before she turns 20—that’s
the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world. And teen
pregnancy rates in the U.S. are on the rise for the first time in 15 years.
It’s clear from listening to these girls talk that they are
lacking something fundamental—a sense of control over their lives or the
experience of unconditional love, to put it broadly. Adolescence is such a
difficult time of life and the thought that one could have a tiny, adorable
being to devote one’s self to—rather than having to work to forge a life for
one’s self—could be appealing to some youth. But, naturally, this fantasy is nothing like the reality of being a teen mom.
Young men and women need not only comprehensive sex
education, but parenting and marriage education that explains that these are not states into which
one enters lightly. And almost all of the media hubbub over teen pregnancy has
focused on girls. What about the boys who are getting these girls pregnant? They
need to understand the consequences of their actions just as much as girls do,
including the risk that having sex at such a young age will make their partners long for, and perhaps seek, more commitment than they can handle.
Thanks to Jezebel, you can watch a clip of the last night’s show here.
Photo: informedvoters.wordpress.com
Related Post:
Are Shotgun Weddings the Best Answer to Teen Pregnancy?
