I'm sure most of you have heard this story by now. If you haven't, basically 17 16 year old girls in the same town are pregnant - on purpose. They made some sort of pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together.
In the article, it mentions movies (like Knocked Up and Juno) as potentially having an influence on this decision. I find that ridiculous. I didn't think Knocked Up glorified teen pregnancy at all. For one, she was an adult, with a job. Two, it's a movie. A MOVIE. Are we giving these kids enough credit?
Maybe we are though. I can't wrap my mind around wanting to have a baby at 16. Nothing about it seemed fun/exciting/worth it to me.
I'm forced to wonder if it's the "small town" mentality. I hate to group small towns together like this, but in a lot of cases it's true. Are they crying out for attention or love? Are they lonely? I'd love to know what the thought process was behind this.
Also in the article they mention sex education. Sex education wouldn't have helped here. They knew what they were doing - passing out condoms wouldn't have helped. They simply wouldn't have used them. Sounds to me like they HAD sex education - maybe just not the "right" kind.
Is it their socio-economic status? It's a "poor" fishing town. Boredom? Inadequate education? Poor parenting?
Everyone is so caught up in finding who is to "blame" when we should be focusing on these girls. Their mental status, their health and the future of their babies. Talk to THEM to try to figure out what's going on. Stop speculating (yes, I'm guilty of that).
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
Fun. Now when all those kids all hit puberty together, let's see how well they all hold up...with no college education...partners who have all run out on them...sigh.
I agree. I actually live in Gloucester and my two girls are 5 and 7 and it terrifies me, in general, what they are faced with in society as they get older especially. They need life counselors more than sex education. they apparently know ALL about sex!
P.S. I am actually from Los Angeles and living in this small town is quite something (referring to your small town mentality). I didn't realize until living here for a year or so how it feels like the edge of the earth, which is lovely but scary for the young people. This is a fishing town and I see alot of kids and families never able to get out. (and I've been here only 3 years after ten years in Boston)
Post a Comment