Take a moment and imagine life without a father or having a father that was absent most of your life. Believe it or not it happens in so many people's lives and it happens to children that have teenage parents as well. The fathers often go unnoticed in teenage pregnancies, we focus on the mother and baby and their needs, but remember a father is impacted as well and they need advice and help too, they also have rights to see their child/children. An unmarried father has the visiting and custody rights a long with the responsibility of child support and caring for the child/children while he is taking care of them. FACTS ABOUT TEEN FATHERS • they are less likely to finish high school then their peers • 8 out of 10 teen fathers do not marry the mother of their child • according to Lifeline Family Center only 20% of teen fathers marry the baby's mother • teen fathers (married or unmarried) are required to pay child support until the child is 18 years old • teen fathers are always older than the mothers by a few months or even a year When you hear the words "teen parent" your mind automatically pictures a teen mother right? But what about the father? In shows about teen pregnancies the whole point is focused on the mother and her struggles with the child and even though the fathers are filmed they do not show how they are impacted. Fathers care and need advice and help just as much as the mothers do, that is in fact their child as well. ADVICE FOR FATHERS • show that you will be involved in your child's life before they are even born, even if the mother and you are no pager together • definitely be there for your child and the child's mother after the child is born • be able to have a stable job that can help out with the child/children expense • enjoy watching your child grow up fast before your eyes, you will be proud you chose to be in his/her life
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Do children of teen mothers have a higher risk of health issues than those with adult parents? The answer is yes, children that have teenage parents may have health problems when they are growing up. In this blog I will be focusing on the children of the teen mothers rather than teen moms and their statistics. There are a lot of challenges that babies from teen mothers face. Children from teen mothers are more likely to be born prematurely and may be under weight, this increases the risk of several different disabilities that may be long-term. The daughters of teen mothers are 22% more likely to become teen mothers themselves and the sons are 13% more likely to be in prison. These children may also experience more abuse or neglect from their teen parents compared to the parents who are older and have waited to have a child. Children that have mothers from the ages of 18-19 are almost 40% more likely to have a reported case of abuse or neglect than those mothers who are between the ages of 20-21. Abuse that is reported may cause the child to be put in a foster home. FOSTER CARE The chart above shows the children that are put in foster care. As the chart shows, teen mothers are teenagers are more likely to be entered into a foster care or have different people take care of them through their young lives. Close to 1/3 of girls that come out of foster care have at least one child. ADOPTION About 1 million children in the United States live with adoptive parents. 2% of women at any age place their child up for adoption, and less then 1% of teenage mothers put their child up for adoption. Teen moms mostly give birth to their child/children. The rate for teenage mothers putting their children up for adoption has declined over the years. In the United States abortion rates have declined a great number and it is also being reflected in significantly lower abortion rates among teenagers. The report "U.S. Teenage Pregnancies Birth & Abortions, 2010: National & State Trends by Age, Race, & Ethnicty" shows declining pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates among teenagers of all ages, races, and ethnic groups in the United States. Efforts being made to ensure that teenagers are preventing unwanted pregnancies seems to be paying off, you can see this in the decline in births and pregnancies among teens in the past few years. During the year 1990 for every 1,000 teens 116.9 teens were becoming pregnant (ages 15-19) thus making 1990 the high in teen pregnancies. The teen birth rate dropped from 61.8 for every 1,000 teenagers in 1991 to 34.4 per 1,000 in 2010. During this time the teen abortion rate fell the most, from 43.5 abortions per 1,000 teens to 14.7 abortions per 1,000 teens in 2010. Texas, along with many other states have the lowest abortion rates among teenagers.
Breaking the Cycle of Teen Pregnancy Breaking the cycle of teen pregnancy could be a major factor in the decline of abortions around the world. Before explaining the details of how to break the cycle of teen pregnancy below is a list of statistics of teenage pregnancies. • more than 365,000 teenagers (15-19) gave birth in 2010 - 57,200 were second births - 8,400 were third births - 1,200 were fourth or higher births • 91% of teen mothers used birth control but only 22% used the most effective types of birth control How to reduce repeat teen births • Talk to teen mothers about avoiding any other unplanned pregnancies • Remind sexually active teens to use protection • Tell teen mothers about support services that may help prevent in further pregnancies • Warn teen mothers about the negative effects of the child's heart when having children so close together Are television shows like Teen Mom or 16 & pregnant promoting teen mothers or are they simply showing the negative affects that having a child at a young age can have on your life? Statistics show that shows similar to the ones that are aired on MTV such as, Teen mom & 16 and pregnant do not have a negative effect on the teen pregnancy rates and actually seem to have a positive effect on the decline in rates over the past few years. This year economists from the Brookings Institution and Wellesley College found that the television shows aired on MTV having to do with teen pregnancy may have been responsible for a third of the decline in teen pregnancy rate here in the United States during those years that the shows were being aired. Although there are great mother-daughter moments during the shows it mainly shows the audience how teen pregnancy is a big change in your life, and it shows life issues and hard truth about how your life changes once you have a child, especially at a young age. During the years 2008 and 2012 the teen pregnancy rate in the United States fell rapidly, around this time the shows Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant were just starting off. The president of MTV, Stephen Friedman said, "When we developed 16 and Pregnant, teen birth rates were reported to be on the rise, so we created this series as a cautionary tale on the hard realities of teen pregnancy. We are deeply grateful to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy for their expert guidance.
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