This Is Not A Time For Complacency

Sat., Aug. 12, 2000

By Fern Christenson fernc@spokesman.com

Great news: the teen birth rate is the lowest it’s been in 60 years. What now? Back-patting all around. Take a breath and relax. The crisis has passed.

Wrong! The trend is encouraging but the numbers are still sickening. For every 1,000 girls ages 15-19, there were about 50 births last year in the United States. That’s a lousy ratio. Obviously, we must not ease our efforts to minimize teen pregnancy.

Among the many reasons why teen pregnancy is a bad idea, consider these: Teen mothers are less likely to graduate from high school and more likely to live in poverty and/or on welfare. Their babies are often born at low birth weight, have health and developmental problems and are frequently abused and/or neglected. For this, society pays about $7 billion annually.

Among developed nations, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is the highest. One million American teenagers become pregnant each year, with 78 percent of those pregnancies unintended.

Sexual discovery is a normal part of growing up and must be handled realistically. Nationwide, 7.2 percent of students say they had sex before age 13; 42.5 percent by grade 10, and 60.9 percent by grade 12.

The most successful efforts to reduce teen pregnancy target youngsters before they become sexually experienced. European countries are having great success with responsible, medically accurate sexuality education. The Netherlands, where sex ed begins in preschool and continues through all levels, has the lowest teen birth rate in the world: 6.9 per 1,000 girls. Why is the teen birth rate lower here? Most likely it’s due to a combination of many factors - education; fear of disease; teens accepting abstinence as “cool;” teens seeing their peers struggling to care for a baby while finishing high school.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (www.teenpregnancy.org) offers tips to parents for preventing teen pregnancy: Talk with your children early and often about sex. Supervise your children; know what they’re doing between the school day’s end and the time you get home from work. Guide teens to friendships with kids whose families share your values. Discourage early, steady dating. Avoid letting your daughter date significantly older boys. Help your children focus on future goals more attractive than rushing unprepared into parenthood. Emphasize education. Know what they’re watching, reading and listening to. Most of all, strive for a strong, close, loving relationship rich in communication and mutual respect.

Local journalism is essential.

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