The Facts
According to Seventeen magazine, "If you're sexually
active, you know that getting pregnant is a risk." Every
year approximately one million teen girls get pregnant in
the United States and every year the federal government
spends close to forty billion dollars to help families that
began with a teenage birth (Teen Pregnancy). The United
States has the highest estimate of teen pregnancy and births
in the western industrialized world (Teen Pregnancy). Only
one-third of teen mothers receive a high school diploma, and
eighty percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare
(Teen Pregnancy). The children of teenage mothers have lower
birth weights, are more likely to perform poorly in school,
and are at a greater risk of abuse and neglect (Teen
Pregnancy). Unplanned, teen pregnancy is one of the many
reasons why early childhood education is important. Everyday
there are teenagers as young as twelve and thirteen years
old having sexual intercourse.
Final weeks of pregnancy
Men and hetairai in sexual intercourse.
English: Houseflies Musca domestica mating. Pictur...The younger a teenage girl is
when she has had sex for the first time, the more likely she
is to have had unwanted or non-voluntary sex (Teen
Pregnancy). It almost seems like girls are getting younger
and younger when they become sexually active. In order
to prevent teen pregnancy, it is imperative that children
are educated more, at an early age, about abstaining from
sex and being safe if sexually active.
During high school, students are required to take a
life management class. This class teaches teens about all of
the birth control methods, contraceptives, and how to be
safe while sexually active. This class has both
disadvantages and advantages. One of the disadvantages is
that it doesn't focus on teaching the importance of
abstinence enough. One of the advantages is that it does
focus on teaching...