Teen pregnancy is a pretty serious topic, and it’s one that many parents have a hard time discussing with their children. As hard as it might be to bring up the subject, it must be done. However, how do you know your teen is listening to you? How do you talk to them in a way they will not only understand, but in a way that will really get through to them, that will really help them take to heart the realities of this issue?
Let’s face it, teenagers think they know everything. They think they are invincible, they think that nothing bad could ever happen to them, and they don’t tend to think they need to listen to their parents. As much as we all want to raise children who listen to and learn from our every word, our every piece of advice, it’s a rare parent who is able to do so unfailingly.
I remember being a teenager quite well, and I remember thinking that everything that happened to me was “no big deal”. I had an “Oh well, we’ll deal with it if it happens” attitude, and that attitude found me with child at the age of seventeen. I admit that I had a lazy attitude about it. I didn’t care, and I figured everything would just work itself out in the end. Everything did work itself out in the end for me, but had I really understood the realities of what it meant to be a teen mother I might have made different decisions. That harsh reality was never presented to me.
MTV has a show called “16 & Pregnant”. The show has critics, of course, those who say that the station is glamorizing teen pregnancy and that in the end it will only result in higher teen pregnancy rates. From what I have seen and read, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The show is chronicling the lives of real teen parents, honestly and openly putting on display the struggles, the frustrations, the loss of freedom that a child brings, the extreme demands of caring for a baby, and the relationship ups and downs that tend to take place as a result of the addition of baby.
I’m not typically a big fan of reality shows, but this is a reality that needs to be seen, and it seems to really hit a nerve with young people. Teen pregnancy rates have dropped, and 82% of teens who watch this show say that it has helped them to understand why they should avoid pregnancy at such a young age.
When it comes to a topic so serious, when it comes to a reality that is so difficult to communicate with your teenager, a show like “16 & Pregnant” is a much needed segment in the MTV line-up. It brings with it an easier and more comfortable way to bring up the topic, a way to show the realities to our teenagers and really get through to them, a neutral starting point for the discussion and one that our children already relate to in many ways.
I don’t think that a TV show is a substitute for open discussion with our teenagers, but I do think it can be a springboard to further discussion, an opportunity for us to bring up these topics in a way that would help our children to be more open to the discussion as well. By taking the focus off of our children, and removing the aspect of the dreaded *talk*, parents can discuss the ramifications of teen pregnancy from the perspective of the couples on the show, they can show the dangers and the difficulties without it seeming like a lecture, and our own children might be much more receptive to having that discussion.
When it comes to preventing teen pregnancy, I think we need all the help we can get to get through to our children.