Teenage Birth Rates, Homicides on the Increase?

Question

But eighth graders who smoke are going down. This is the first time in 15 years the teenage birth rates have gone up, and the first time in 12 years that teenage homicides have gone up.

Not attacking teenage mothers or anyone else, just sharing some information...

...but what do you think has contributed to this rise?

Article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20080711/hl_hsn/teenbirthrateshomicidesonincreasereportshows;_ylt=AvhgqXt.gyRreJeKvP.ZFSqs0NUE

Answer 1

Having a baby is like the little dog accessory. When the Hollywood celebrities bought little dogs every girl in America wanted a little dog. Now the celebrities are all getting pregnant out of wedlock (yes there are some who are married) and the teenage girls are now seeing pregnancy as a "fashion statement" rather than what it is.

Lack of s*x ed: the only thing schools teach about these days is not having s*x until marriage. If you tell a little kid not to eat the cookies they are going to be tempted to eat the cookies. If schools would talk about the different types of birth control/condoms maybe young adults would think to use them. I know when my parents attended school condoms were provided at the nurses office; now they are not.

You can also blame the parents. When parents don't teach their children early on what is right and what is wrong, the kids won't know either. Parents are our role models and as children we look up to them. If they aren't there we turn to whoever is; IE the television which has a ongoing s*x influenced media.

Answer 2

teenage girls meaning 15-17 years old (according to the article) maybe its just coincidence that there has been an increase because usually young pregnancies are not planned. i dont see what specifically contributed to this?

Answer 3

As a teenage mother, at 17, i can say i did not plan it, nor did i think it was glamorized, i was just as frightened regardless of the media,

I also don't put the blame on my parents, i put the blame on myself, even though my mother never had "The Talk" with me, i knew what s*x was and i knew the outcome of s*x, and i had s*x regardless, i didn't do it because it was cool, it was just a mistake that i needed to make for myself, and my mom was 31 when she had me, so i don't think its passed through the family either, everyone in my family waited until after 25 years old to have a baby, and i am going to make sure my daughter knows that being a young mom is not a bad thing, but its not something you should or try to do, and i think when she gets older she will realize my struggles

I love my daughter soo much, and i wouldn't change what happened for the world, i did graduate high school, and i did not get any financial support from the government or my parents, i do go to college now, and i couldn't be  happier

I guess you could say the rise is from just stupidity and for me it was, "i didn't think it would ever happen to me," which i know alot of teens think it won't ever happen to them

and as for homicides, i think its all gang related, and self hatred, i beleive in the cities, kids are turning to the streets for love, and "kill for love", i do blame this on the parents, they need to watch what their children are doing, and set limits for them, they need to not give them enough time to join a gang, and watch who their friends are, i live in Albany, Ny, which is not as bad as NYC, but we have at least 25 homicides a year, and tripple that in injuries from gang violence, i live just outside Albany, and i refuse to take a trip through there at night because its just not a safe place, 3 weeks ago a 16 year old boy did a drive by shooting, missed the person he was trying to hit, and hit a 10 yr old girl playing jump rope, its awful, and he did it for his "gang"

heres the story...http://timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.a...

Answer 4

A new generation of parents who have no idea how to be actual parents.

Answer 5

"what do you think has contributed to this rise?"

Glamorized pregnancies

Lack of s*x ed (I'm sorry, but I would never need to ask 90% of the questions in here.)  It's getting ridiculous how naive people are about s*x and pregnancy.

When I was 17 (ten years ago), no one was considered "cool" if they were having s*x.  I was never peer pressured into it.  It just wasn't the smart thing to do.  And the people who were having s*x, they talked to their mom about birth control.

..... times have changed.

Answer 6

im 14 and the rate is going up because the teens today are to afraid to tell; there parents about birth control and condoms and there boyfriends talk them in to it