Teen birth rates hit absolute historical lows

[Peter Grimm]

Actually, one of the reasons why so many single mothers are poor is that they were poor before they became pregnant and pregnancy doesn't make it any easier to get out of poverty

And you are correct that physically, there's nothing wrong with having a baby as a teen. However, in our society and economy, it's somewhat rare for a teen to be making enough money to raise a child and the idea of extended families raising a child is not the norm

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It's true that lower class teenage women are more likely to get pregnant. We'll leave the reasons for that to another debate. It's also true that having a baby makes it hard to go to school.

However, having a baby makes it hard to go to work as well. There's never a convenient time to have a baby, it's always a sacrifice.

That's why having a family structure, and a husband, are important.

 

[sangha]

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It's true that lower class teenage women are more likely to get pregnant. We'll leave the reasons for that to another debate. It's also true that having a baby makes it hard to go to school.

However, having a baby makes it hard to go to work as well. There's never a convenient time to have a baby, it's always a sacrifice.

That's why having a family structure, and a husband, are important.

Yes, exactly!

My point is that there's a lot of factors that go into being a "successful" parent. Age, socio-economic background, education, etc...

 

[Perotista]

I would take issue to some aspects of the study

Generally the age group included in the study. I would have removed the 18 and 19 year olds from the study, as it was common 40 years ago to get married at that age. It certainly would not have the negative effects of teen pregnancy both in the 50s and now. 13-17 year olds would be the age group I would have included in the study, especially when trying to draw conclusions regarding abstinence and birth control

I think you are right. I grew up in the 50's in a farming community and having a kid quit school at 16 to work the farm wasn't all that unusual although it was coming to an end then. Marriage at 18 or 19 right after high school or when one quit High School was also common. A lot of High School kids would graduate, get a job in town and then get married to their sweetheart.

I don't ever remember any kid in school getting pregnant, but that doesn't it didn't happened. Then I can't speak of the school in town or the big cities either. One also must remember, back then not that many kids went on to college and having a High School diploma was the same as probably a 2 year degree these days. It just wasn't expected.

Regardless, I think less teens giving birth is a very good thing regardless of the reason or reasons. This is what I call good news.

 

[Peter Grimm]

Yes, exactly!

My point is that there's a lot of factors that go into being a "successful" parent. Age, socio-economic background, education, etc...

Age isn't a factor. Correlation doesn't imply causation.

If you want to say age is a factor, you might as well say race is a factor too, and we all know how ridiculous that is.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

They don't wind up and stay in poverty because they're teenage mothers, they wind up and stay in poverty because they're single mothers.

Wind the clock back to the 1950's and before, and teens getting pregnant was much more common. However, they usually got married, and the families wouldn't end up any poorer than the ones who chose to wait.

On the other hand, the literature seems to suggest that babies born to younger mothers are healthier and stronger.

So I don't see the fascination with delayed pregnancy and marriage except that it's culturally vogue.

I did name that as a factor. But also consider that in 1950, you didn't need a degree to get a decent job. Today you do. And with the expense of childcare, and the fact that most parents don't have enough saved to cover their child's college, having a child in their teens will still impact the ability of either parent to get a degree even if they stay together because suddenly their money is going down a different rabbit hole.

The "vogue" with it is that people have other things they want to do with their lives besides just have a bunch of children.

 

[Ocean007]

They don't wind up and stay in poverty because they're teenage mothers, they wind up and stay in poverty because they're single mothers.

Wind the clock back to the 1950's and before, and teens getting pregnant was much more common. However, they usually got married, and the families wouldn't end up any poorer than the ones who chose to wait. On the other hand, the literature seems to suggest that babies born to younger mothers are healthier and stronger. So I don't see the fascination with delayed pregnancy and marriage except that it's culturally vogue.

Why would anyone want to wind the clock back to the 1950's and before? I certainly don't want to revisit that time in American history. I think things were lousy for women then, especially in terms of jobs and careers. Jobs were segregated by "Help wanted; male" and Help wanted; female" and women usually got stuck with the lowest-paying, little-chance-of-advancement jobs. GAG. Women were pretty much expected to settle for the dreary title of "Occupation: housewife," and women who wanted more than that had something "wrong" with them, according to backward-thinking conservatives.

I didn't want marriage and motherhood in my teens and twenties, and I certainly don't want it now either. Women who prefer to be career women aren't forced to marry and/or have children, which means women have more opportunities. Teen mothers will have far LESS opportunities, due to a variety of factors, including the fact that some won't even graduate high school, let alone attend college or vocational school. That's something conservatives who like to believe "teen motherhood isn't so bad" tend to overlook or ignore.

 

[Ocean007]

I did name that as a factor. But also consider that in 1950, you didn't need a degree to get a decent job. Today you do. And with the expense of childcare, and the fact that most parents don't have enough saved to cover their child's college, having a child in their teens will still impact the ability of either parent to get a degree even if they stay together because suddenly their money is going down a different rabbit hole.

The "vogue" with it is that people have other things they want to do with their lives besides just have a bunch of children.

Exactly. Unfortunately there are still many conservatives who believe marriage and motherhood are the ONLY valid occupations for women, and they don't seem to like single women with well-paying careers much either. I guess they think the more women who stay single and independent, the less likely they'll want to accept the restrictions of the "Occupation: housewife" title.

 

[Lursa]

True. I mean it doesn't matter either way to me, but it just seems like a meaningless thing to focus in on. What we should be concerned about is the number of kids that are being born out of wedlock, which is skyrocketing at an alarming pace.

The age of the mother is irrelevant, in my opinion, as long as there isn't statutory rape involved or anything like that.

For the whole teen pregnancy thing we just need to remember our 1950's ethics - if you knock a girl up, you marry her.

IMO it's the impact on society that is relevant and that means that more teen mothers means more single mothers producing more people living in poverty and all the social and economic disadvantages that brings...along with the burdens they place on society.

So tracking teen pregnancies AND FINDING OUT what's driving that downturn is extremely important IMO.

And in the 50's, plenty of those teen mothers did not marry (then)...they dropped out of school, went away somewhere, and then gave the baby up for adoption.

 

[Lursa]

Actually, one of the reasons why so many single mothers are poor is that they were poor before they became pregnant and pregnancy doesn't make it any easier to get out of poverty

And you are correct that physically, there's nothing wrong with having a baby as a teen. However, in our society and economy, it's somewhat rare for a teen to be making enough money to raise a child and the idea of extended families raising a child is not the norm

Yep. Teens dont have alot of income and if they cant finish (or delay) their educations, it prevents or slows them down in developing careers.

 

[Lursa]

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? It's true that lower class teenage women are more likely to get pregnant. We'll leave the reasons for that to another debate. It's also true that having a baby makes it hard to go to school.

However, having a baby makes it hard to go to work as well. There's never a convenient time to have a baby, it's always a sacrifice.

That's why having a family structure, and a husband, are important.

Is that true? It may be but I bet it's not a huge difference. Do you have any links?

Teens are poor as single mothers because no matter what their income background, they are not yet generally established in a job, if working at all.

And btw, no matter what income background, even if living at home with family, most/all single mothers qualify for and apply for public assistance of many kinds...still draining the taxpayers.

 

[Lursa]

I don't ever remember any kid in school getting pregnant, but that doesn't it didn't happened. Then I can't speak of the school in town or the big cities either. .

Did any girls disappear? Go to live with 'relatives?' Go away to 'boarding school?' Such things were hidden away as much as possible back then.

 

[Lursa]

Age isn't a factor. Correlation doesn't imply causation.

If you want to say age is a factor, you might as well say race is a factor too, and we all know how ridiculous that is.

IMO that's a ridiculous statement. It's recognized legally, medically, psychologically that adolescents do not have the same mental and emotional development as adults, nor judgement. And it crosses racial lines as well....adolescents are adolescents. There is no specific age where maturity hits because each individual is different but it crosses racial lines. Even culture affects it more.

Immature parents do not make good parents. While I'm not saying that all teens are too immature to be parents, *in our society* most are, besides also not being financially established enough to do so.

 

[Perotista]

Did any girls disappear? Go to live with 'relatives?' Go away to 'boarding school?' Such things were hidden away as much as possible back then.

Geez - I know I am old, but that old? Well perhaps, no, none that I can remember. But my school probably wasn't one to judge things like this, I mean an old country school with 13 kids in my class. 7 boys and 6 girls. I think there was 49 kids in the whole High School, 9-12 grades. The nearest town about 8 miles away had about 2,000 or so people in it.

 

[Muhammed]

They usually don't get a degree, so they are raising a child on minimum wage

That is ridiculous. Can you present a reasonable argument to support that claim?

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

That is ridiculous. Can you present a reasonable argument to support that claim?

How is it "ridiculous" to say people with no education, no experience, and inflexible schedules tend to earn as little as it's possible to pay them?

Most teenagers get paid minimum wage, baby or not.

But combine that with the fact that almost none of them get a degree at any point in their 20's and more than half of them don't even graduate high school...

http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/why-it-matters/pdf/education.pdf

And that means the average wage they're earning is poverty level, even once they're out of their teens.

Children Do Better When They're Not Raised By Children | The Urban Child Institute

 

[specklebang]

18 and 19 yo's are teenagers.

The only reason to not count them in a study about teen sex is in order to intentionally skew the results

We should include everybody up to the age of 72 (whew) in the study.

Finally you genius Americans learned to use the contraceptives you stole at Walgreens (or bought). Congratulations. They call it Safe Sex.

 

[Muhammed]

How is it "ridiculous" to say people with no education, no experience, and inflexible schedules tend to earn as little as it's possible to pay them?

That's not what you said S&M.

 

[SmokeAndMirrors]

That's not what you said S&M.

Uh... whatever you say.

 

[Ocean007]

How is it "ridiculous" to say people with no education, no experience, and inflexible schedules tend to earn as little as it's possible to pay them?

Most teenagers get paid minimum wage, baby or not. But combine that with the fact that almost none of them get a degree at any point in their 20's and more than half of them don't even graduate high school...

http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/why-it-matters/pdf/education.pdf

And that means the average wage they're earning is poverty level, even once they're out of their teens.

Children Do Better When They're Not Raised By Children | The Urban Child Institute

Exactly. For teen parents, especially teen moms who can't complete high school or college due to the overwhelming responsibilities of baby care, their prospects for well-paying employment are rather grim.

Teen moms who are stuck with low-income or minimum-wage jobs aren't likely to get out of poverty very soon, if they get out at all.

 

[Muhammed]

The article even mention xenoestrogens? It doesn't even consider the obvious so it's crap.

Increasingly, the government puts an industrial waste product known as soy in their school lunches. Kids today drink beverages and even water out of plastic bottles. This also exposes them to BPA which is an estrogen mimicking compound.

 

[Ocean007]

The article even mention xenoestrogens? It doesn't even consider the obvious so it's crap.

The "obvious" being...WHAT, exactly? A little more clarity would be helpful.

Getting back to the subject of teen birth rates hitting historical lows, I consider that a very good thing. Teen girls who become mothers anywhere from 14-18 are putting their chances of any well-paying employment at risk, which is bad for both the teen moms and their child(ren).

When I was in high school, I didn't want to get pregnant and stuck with a baby and put MY employment future at risk. So I had a very simple solution for any guy who tried to talk me into having sex; I DUMPED him, immediately. Problem solved. Guys who pressure their girlfriends into having sex aren't worth keeping around. The sooner teen girls realize this and unload sex-pressuring boyfriends, the better.