I have been on this site for only a few months, in that time I have seen numerous posts that start of like this.

Hi, I am a teenager, I had unprotected sex, could I be pregnant, what do I do?

Isn't there sex education in our schools anymore. If so, what are they teaching them, abstinence? Obviously that isn't working.

I'm here to tell all you teenagers. Stop having unprotected sex. The only form of birth control that is 100% effective is abstinence (meaning don't have sex). If you have unprotected sex even once, you have a very high chance of being called Mommy in nine months.

I don't know how the rest of you feel about this, it just sickens me that there are so many young people who are potentially messing up their lives by having unprotected sex. Not to mention the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. What can we do about this growing concern.

Teens, I'd like your input to. What do you need in order for you to be prepared to make better decisions in your life.

Wondergirl

The center of life for most people used to be the family and the church. That changed. Stores and businesses weren't open on Sundays. That changed. Most women were full-time homemakers. That changed. Most families were made up of a stable unit, father-mother-children. That changed. The American dream was a house in the suburbs, a picket fence, 2.5 children, a dog, and a two-car garage. That changed.

Since the mid-'60s, the exultant cry has been, "If it feels good, do it!" That has given people a new sense of personal freedom, but it has also caused a lot of trouble. There's been freedom but less and less responsiblity. Apparently, freedom isn't free.

Sex at almost anytime and with almost anyone has been one of those new freedoms. It feels good, but too often there's a price to pay--the inconvenience of birth control, the heartbreak of STDs, the shock of an unwanted pregnancy.

If you don't want to bother with birth control, if you don't want an STD, if you don't want a baby, especially if you are 14 or 15 or even 18 (with your whole life ahead of you), don't have sex.

We can't put the toothpaste back into the tube. We can't recapture the olden days of moral virtue, as some call it. We can't restore the family to being only the father-mother-child model. We can't close businesses and stores at 6 p.m. and on Sundays. We can't put Mom back into the kitchen and tie her to the stove.

What to do, what to do to at least stop so many teenage pregnancies from happening.

Children and teens look to the media--movies and TV--for role models. Now, if only denizens of Hollywood would wake up tomorrow morning and in one breath say, "Enough!" there might be a chance of reshaping young minds. But that won't happen.

If I were Queen of American Sex Education, I would rewrite the lesson plans and textbooks. Anyone want to vote me in?

Altenweg

You've got my vote. I've never wanted to start a commune on a little island in the middle of no where, with no television, phones or anything as much as I do right now.

What is our future generation going to be like? You are correct, it's the whole "If it feels good do it" mind set that has gotten us in trouble. Where does it end? How many teen pregnancies and young people with Aids do we have to have before something is done about this?

Every time I see a new post from a young person asking if she is pregnant I want to scream. "If you had unprotected sex you might very well be pregnant, even if you had protected sex, nothing is 100% (besides abstinence) so guess what, you might be pregnant. And if that isn't enough, guess what, you might have contracted a deadly disease. Is that worth the few minutes of pleasure that you got out of it?. I hope so, because guess what, now you have to grow up and deal with the choices that you made.

Not that it would get anyone's attention, after all, what do adults know that kids don't?

jillianleab

Teens think they are invincible. It's the same reason they engage in other reckless behavior like drugs, sneaking out of the house, etc. They think, "It won't happen to me" And honestly, for most it doesn't. Most teens who engage in such reckless activities escape harm and turn out a-ok in their adult life. That's not to say their activities should be condoned, but it certainly helps with your world view when you and all your friends are having sex and doing drugs and nothing bad happens.

I blame parents, by the way. It all starts at home... (in most cases, anyway)

Altenweg

I do blame parents to some degree, but let's face it, we've all been there and did we listen to our parents? I had wonderful parents that were open and honest with me about everything but I still ended up going along with the crowd because I didn't want to be teased or left out. Is that why so many young kids are having sex? Is it peer pressure or do they have bad parents?

I'm doing everything I can to keep the lines of communication open with my kids (9 and 5) but already the 9 year old is telling me that so and so from school said this and that and it's the truth no matter what I say and what proof I have that it's total BS. So far it's just little things but how long before he starts questioning me about sex and not believing what I tell him because his friends say different?

I certainly hope that he realizes that his mom and dad know more than any 9, 10, 11 and so on all the way to 21 and beyond knows. I've always told my kids, if you have a question then ask me, if I don't know the answer I will find it for you. If I give you an answer then it's the God's honest truth.

This whole teen pregnancy thing has me really scared. These are babies having babies, let's face it, they don't have the sense that God gave a goat and they're out there having unprotected sex hoping that lightening doesn't strike.

Well teens, if you are reading this let me tell you. Getting pregnant while having sex isn't as rare as being hit by lightening, it's about as rare as stepping on gum in the parking lot, having bird poop on a car that's parked under a tree with a nest in it, getting gas if you eat too many onions. I hope that this puts a little bit of reality into your beliefs kids, because being a mom at 14,15,16,17,18,19 isn't fun, don't play russian roulette, use birth control. PLEASE!

mwilliams15

I'm 20 and I've been out of high school for two years now. There are sooo many girls in my high school that are either pregnant or have had children. Some of which are even pregnant with their 2nd or third.

Then you get on myspace or facebook and you see the girls profiles. All of the girls have pictures up of their ultrasounds, their belly.. their about says: I'm so excited to be a mommy! Then everyone is leaving them comments like: wow congratulations! That's amazing!

Pregnancy appears to be glamorized by teens now a days. It's an epidemic. It's like it doesn't matter that you are 15 or 16 with no job and still in high school. It's like we've gone back into the 1800's when people got married at 15 and started having kids. I just don't get it personally.

I was raised in a house hold where my mom didn't finish college. She got pregnant with my sister at 21, got married, and had me a few years later... then got divorced. I was raised constantly being told that I have to do something with my life.. that I have to make more for myself so I can have the things I want and need in life, so I can raise a family securely, so I can pay the bills and put food on the table. I refuse to have a kid until I have a career and a husband.

I had it hard growing up and I think some of these girls didn't have it as hard. Maybe their parents didn't drill it into their head as my mom did. Then again a lot of these girls that do get pregnant didn't have things well off either.. in that case I say the same thing again.. their parents probably didn't drill it in their heads to do something with their lives besides pop out kids at such a young age.

It's really sad, but honestly I think the majority of the problem has to do with parents and how the kids raised, and another majority has to do with how they think it is cool to have a kid at such a young age.. then the rest has to do with pure carelessness.

Altenweg

It's so nice to hear from a young person (hope you don't mind me saying that, to me you are young) with a good head on her shoulders, oh how I wish there were more like you.

I'm 37 years old and things weren't all that different when I was in high school. Teens really didn't think that they could get pregnant, even if they didn't use birth control. In my 12th year 4 girls where pregnant in my school, we went to a Catholic school. I guess those religion classes didn't take.

What is it that teens think they are missing that they think a baby will fill. Babies aren't dolls, they don't do whatever you want just because you're the parent. It's actually kind of sad, they are probably going against their parents wishes, and yet they think that they will have the perfect child, unconditional love etc.etc. Just wait until that baby turn 15, what comes around goes around.

lilmama19

first you girls don't need to be on here trying to make it seem like giving life no matter what age is a bad thing because its not giving birth changes the lives of many people for the better and i refuse to sit here and see ignorant messages posted like that if thats how you feel you need not be on this website becuase people come on here to vent and find answers from people that relate not for judgemental people such as your selfs because its not like you are the people thats taking care of these new born babies

mwilliams15

It is sad. I don't know what these girls need to see that its wrong. Maybe there should be a class or something made mandatory in schools to show these girls what its like to have no money, no job, and a baby... or even trying to balance school, a job, and a baby alone. Sex ed programs evidently aren't working. I think it's time that someone develops a real program.

Wondergirl

I did. All my friends listened to theirs. Those were the days....