In Talking to your teen about risky behaviors, moi said:
There are no perfect people, no one has a perfect life and everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately, children do not come with instruction manuals, which give specific instructions about how to relate to that particular child. Further, for many situations there is no one and only way to resolve a problem. What people can do is learn from their mistakes and the mistakes of others. Sharon Jayson writes in the USA Today article, More children born to unmarried parents:
A growing number of firstborns in the USA have unmarried parents, reflecting dramatic increases since 2002 in births to cohabiting women, according to government figures out today.
The percentage of first births to women living with a male partner jumped from 12% in 2002 to 22% in 2006-10 — an 83% increase. The percentage of cohabiting new fathers rose from 18% to 25%. The analysis, by the National Center for Health Statistics, is based on data collected from 2006 to 2010….
The percentage of first births to cohabiting women tripled from 9% in 1985 to 27% for births from 2003 to 2010.
Karen Benjamin Guzzo, a sociologist at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, who studies cohabitation and fertility, says she thinks the big jump since 2002 is likely because of the recession, which was at its height from late 2007 to 2009, right in the middle of the federal data collection.
“I think it’s economic shock,” she says. “Marriage is an achievement that you enter into when you’re ready. But in the meantime, life happens. You form relationships. You have sex. You get pregnant. In a perfect world, they would prefer to be married, but where the economy is now, they’re not going to be able to get married, and they don’t want to wait to have kids.”
Also, middle class parents may think more about how much kids cost, but “having kids is much more than about money. It’s about love,” Guzzo says. “You can be a good parent if you don’t have a lot of money. You can be with someone who can be a good parent.”
Sociologist Kelly Musick of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., who studies cohabiting couples with children, says she’s noticed women with more education starting to have children outside of marriage. She says cohabiting used to be more common among women who didn’t graduate from high school but it’s becoming more common for those with a high school degree or some college….
The government report also found racial and ethnic differences.
About 80% of first children born to black women were outside of marriage; 18% of these women were cohabiting. Among Hispanics, 53% of first children were born outside of marriage, and 30% of the women were cohabiting. Among white women, 34% of first children were born outside of marriage, 20% to cohabiters. Among Asians, 13% of first children were born outside of marriage; 7% of women were cohabiting.
The new data also found no significant changes since 2002 in some other areas:
•Average age at first birth (23 for women and 25 for men).
•Percentage that had a biological child (56% of women and 45% of men).
•Average number of children (1.3 births for women and 0.9 for men).
This rise in first births to cohabiting women parallels increases in first births to unmarried women overall. Of first births from 2006-10, 46% were to unmarried mothers, compared with 38% in 2002.
This is a demographic disaster for children as devastating as the hurricane “Katrina.”
One way to promote healthier lifestyles for children is to keep their parents in school so that they can complete their education. One overlooked aspect of Title IX is the mandate that pregnant teens have access to education.
The National Women’s Law Center has information about Title IX and pregnancy:
Pregnant & Parenting Students
Teen parents face enormous barriers to success in school. We’re working to ensure that Title IX’s mandate of equal treatment for pregnant and parenting students is enforced and to encourage schools to help them graduate ready for college and careers. Title IX is the federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in schools that receive federal funding. Every pregnant and parenting student should know that Title IX regulations require that pregnant and parenting students have equal access to schools and activities, that all separate programs for pregnant or parenting students must be completely voluntary, and that schools must excuse absences that due to pregnancy or childbirth for as long as is deemed medically necessary by the students physician.
Resources for Students, Parents, & Educators
- Pregnant and Parenting Students’ Rights under Title IX
- Pregnant and Parenting Students’ Rights: FAQs for College and Graduate Students
- Title IX Protections for Pregnant and Parenting Students: A Guide for Schools
- How to Keep Pregnant and Parenting Students from Dropping Out
- Pregnancy Harassment IS Sexual Harassment: FAQs About Title IX and Pregnancy Harassment
- Know Your Rights: A Conference Call for Pregnant and Parenting Students
- It’s Your Education: How Title IX Protections Can Help You
Recent Cases & Legislation
- Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act
- Justice for Pregnant and Parenting Students in Michigan
- Letter to Michigan Dept. of Education re: Guidelines for Homebound and Hospitalized Services for Public School Students
Highlights
Webinars & Presentations | Ask the Experts: Pregnancy-Based Harassment in Schools
March 9, 2012
The National Women’s Law Center’s “Ask the Experts” series was launched in February 2012 to help people like YOU get answers about issues that matter to you.
This edition answers the following question: “After I became pregnant, people at my school started harassing me and calling me names like ‘slut’ and ‘whore.’ Is there something I can do to stop this?”
Watch below to see an NWLC expert answer. For more information on the rights of pregnant and parenting students, click here.
Webinars & Presentations | Ask the Experts: Title IX and Pregnant and Parenting Students
March 9, 2012
The National Women’s Law Center’s “Ask the Experts” series was launched in February 2012 to help people like YOU get answers about issues that matter to you.
This edition answers the following question: “I’m a pregnant student. Can my school force me to attend an alternative school or program?”
Fact Sheet | Pregnancy Harassment Is Sexual Harassment: FAQs About Title IX and Pregnancy Harassment
January 17, 2012
This fact sheet answers common questions about sexual harassment and pregnancy. Harassment because of pregnancy, any related medical conditions, or recovery therefrom, is always sex discrimination. If you’re experiencing harassment because you’re pregnant or have been pregnant, Title IX can protect you. Title IX prohibits other types of pregnancy discrimination too (such as not excusing pregnancy-related absences).
Fact Sheet | Fact Sheet: Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act
August 5, 2011
Teen parents face enormous barriers to success in school. The Pregnant and Parenting Students Access to Education Act (PPSAE) provides states and school districts with the necessary framework and resources to support pregnant and parenting students and ensure that they have equal access to educational opportunities. This fact sheet outlines key provisions of the bill and provides background information on pregnant and parenting students in the U.S.
More Resources
Fact Sheet | Pregnant and Parenting Students’ Rights
June 14, 2012
If you are a pregnant or parenting student, you should know that under Title IX, you have a right to stay in school so you can meet your education and career goals. This fact sheet outlines students’ rights in key areas including school absences, activities and make-up work.
Students must complete their education.
Related:
1. A Title IX Perspective on the Schools – RAND Corporation
www.rand.org/pubs/reports/2008/R2767.pdf
File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat
by GL Zellman
http://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/2008/R2767.pdf
2. Martinez G, Copen CE, Abma JC. Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive use, and childbearing, 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 23(31). 2011.
Library of Congress Catalog Number 306.70835’ 09073090511—dc22
For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office Superintendent of Documents Mail Stop: SSOP Washington, DC 20402–9328 Printed on acid-free paper.
Results
In 2006–2010, about 43% of never-married female teenagers (4.4 million), and about 42% of never-married male teenagers (4.5 million) had had sexual intercourse at least once. These levels of sexual experience have not changed significantly from 2002. Seventy-eight percent of females and 85% of males used a method of contraception at first sex according to 2006–2010 data, with the condom remaining the most popular method. Teenagers’ contraceptive use has changed little since 2002, with a few exceptions: there was an increase among males in the use of condoms alone and in the use of a condom combined with a partner’s hormonal contraceptive; and there was a significant increase in the percentage of female teenagers who used hormonal methods other than a birth-control pill, such as injectables and the contraceptive patch, at first sex. Six percent of female teenagers used a nonpill hormonal method at first sex.
3. Teen Pregnancy Rate Lowest in Two Decades
http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/05/teen-pregnancy-rate-lowest-in-two-decades/
Teen pregnancy rate lowest in two decades
Shows like “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant” have helped make teen pregnancy a topic of national conversation. However, the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the actual rate of teen pregnancies in the U.S. has declined to a record low.
In 2009, around 410,000 teenage girls, ages 15 to 19, gave birth in the United States. That’s a 37 percent decrease from the teen birth rate in1991. Then, 61.8 births per every 1,000 females was a teen pregnancy. The rate has now dropped to 39.1 births per 1,000 women. Yet according to the United Nations, the rate of teen pregnancy in the United States is nearly nine times higher than in the majority of other developed nations.
In a press release attached to the new Vital Signs report, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, the director of the CDC, wrote that despite the steady reduction in teen pregnancies over the last two decades, “still far too many teens are having babies.”
“Preventing teen pregnancy can protect the health and quality of life of teenagers, their children, and their families throughout the United States.”
The Vital Signs report looked at data from 1991 to 2009 and found that in addition to the steady decrease in the rate of teen pregnancies, there’s also been a decrease in the percentage of high school students even having sex. More teens are using contraception, too; the CDC says the percentage of students who had sexual intercourse in the past three months without using any type of contraception decreased from sixteen percent to 12 percent while the percentage of students using two forms of contraception (for example, a condom and birth control pills) increased from 5 to 9 percent.
Still, roughly 1,100 teenage women give birth every day. According to the CDC, that means one of every ten new mothers is a teenager. The majority are Hispanic or African-American, with respective birth rates nearly double that of white teenagers. Combined, all teen pregnancies cost taxpayers about $9 billion a year.
Post by: Caitlin Hagan – CNN Medical
See:
What parents need to know about ‘texting’ https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/what-parents-need-to-know-about-texting/
Children and swearing https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/children-and-swearing/
Does what is worn in school matter? https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/does-what-is-worn-in-school-matter/
Teen dating violence on the rise https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/teen-dating-violence-on-the-rise/
Dr. Wilda says this about that ©
drwilda 
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