Teen Pregnancy Pact
As for the pregnant Glouster girls, any sane adult has to wonder, “WHY would they do that?” I wondered, too. Where did those girls get the idea that being a teen mom would be like…awesome?
Maybe we could blame the media. Recently, it’s been shining awfully bright lights on pregnancy, depicting it as glamorous and trendy. In the hugely popular movie Juno, the lead character is a very hip, smart, and pregnant 16-year-old. Coincidentally, the day the Glouster story broke, media outlets blasted the news of the birth of a baby to Brittany Spears’ little sister, Jamie Lynn, who is 17. For months, paparazzi photographed her growing “bump,” as teens around the nation watched Jamie smiling, waving, and wearing totally But could media coverage cause an otherwise mentally stable 15-year-old to believe that getting pregnant now is a great idea? I don’t think so. Not any more than playing violent video games is going to turn an emotionally healthy 15-year-old into a mass murderer.
Movies and celebrity lifestyle choices may contribute, but they aren’t the cause of a deliberate teen pregnancy.
So, what is the answer?
Maybe it’s because Glouster has been hit really hard economically, and these girls may be seeing their parents struggling, depressed, and stressed about the family’s prospects. The girls may be feeling like their own future prospects are limited. They may never have been told that they’re good at anything.
They may have thought, on some level, that if they got pregnant, then they wouldn’t have to worry about what they were going to do in the future.
They’d have a baby…and they’d have a ready–made job! Something they’re sure they’d be good at. “I’ll be a mom! Problem solved!” Of course you and I know that’s an incredibly short-sighted perspective, but the teen brain has zones that are still under construction. One such area is dedicated to “impulse control,” another to “long-term planning.”
Download file here
