High Rate of Teenage Pregnancy: Causes and Recommendations

Going through my Facebook page I saw a post that read “causes of teenage pregnancy are shawarma, urgent 2k, front seat”. Will this actually be the cause? Teenagers are swayed away with worldly things and lose their dignity with material things.

Teenage pregnancy is rampant in our society these days, seeing babies giving birth to babies. The rate at which society is rearing half-baked mothers is unpalatable and unbearable.

The rate at which teenagers get pregnant these days is alarming and calls for ultimate attention. Children are seen around the street moving or hawking with their pregnancy. It can be said that babies are giving birth to babies in society.

Sex education should be made mandatory in schools and the parent should ensure their ward is properly educated sexually to avoid any sexual abuse by the opposite gender. Parents play an integral part in the life of their children.

Speaking on the role of parents to their wards, “the blame should be put on the parents because many of nowadays parents have a poor relationship with their children, some children are not properly educated by their parents on sex education, some children are not exposed how guys behave with their lies” Damola, a student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba akoko reacted to this.

Speaking on the negligent attitude of parents towards their children, Damola said the parent don’t have time for the children anymore, that they are only concerned about their work. It is important to know the causes of this social decadence. From the outset of things, it can be denoted that teenage pregnancy is caused by certain factors.

Contents

Lacking parental care

The larger part of teenage pregnancy is caused by the parent. Some parents are so meticulous about their careers and businesses to the extent that they neglect their children and only pay attention to their children financial needs but not their psychological needs which involves training them and educating them about some things about their sexual organs.

Teenagers nowadays are lacking the parental and motherly care that should be given by their parents. Most teenagers fall victim to some atrocities committed by guys due to the negligent and perfunctory attitude of their parents. The children which are supposed to be nurtured and cared for are being left unattended.

Negligent Attitude of the parent

The negligence of parents to their children is a great factor that promotes immorality in society. Parents take the issue pertaining to their children with levity hands. Hawking has been an avenue for some mischievous men to harass young girls and molest them, having sexual intercourse with a teenage girl. It is a practice that is rampant in society that men, after seeing a little girl hawking take advantage and deceitfully take the girl inside and rape them.

Being negligent parents, they find it difficult to listen to their children complaints and find solutions to them. A good parent will always listen to the complaint of their children but some parents fail in this aspect as they show indifferent attitudes to their children.

Some children make complaints to their parents about how they are being molested by men but unfortunately, they turn a deaf hear to it until such a child becomes a sex addict and have an unwanted pregnancy.

They leave such a child in agony after her complaint is being brushed aside. With this negligent attitude, some parents send a little girl an errand, mostly in the night and such a child will be molested, this undoubtedly can make the girl expose to some immoralities and get addicted to it.

Environmental influence

Environmental influence has turned out to be one of the causes of teenage pregnancy. The environment a girl is exposed to will determine how she will have the perception of the world. The exposure a girl get will actually determine how she will reason and react to certain things like getting addicted to sex.

There are some places that believe in having sex and having a boyfriend as their number one sign of exposure. Finding a boy like her, that she refers to as boyfriend. They believe in having a relationship with the same teenage mate. The teenagers simply follow what’s trending in their environment and think of belonging and getting involved in it.

It’s pertinent to know that teenagers have the zeal to get exposed and trend with society. As a result of this unnecessary exposure, they mingle with those that will initiate them into having a secret relationship with the boy which might later result in an unwanted pregnancy. The environment has affected their lives.

Covetousness

Covetousness is another factor that lures some teenagers into having an unwanted pregnancy. Some girls are not contented with the little their parents offer them at home and which propel them into falling victim to lies from guys.

Due to this covetous act, they go ahead to dating a guy that they thought will be paying their bill, as a result of this they get unwanted pregnancy. It is significant to note that girls nowadays are always looking up to wearing designer clothes, shoes that their parents cannot afford, they believe in trending with the society.

In their move to get this they find an alternative, offering their body to a boy who can only give them nothing but a peanut. As a guy, the best thing to pay back is to forcefully or convincingly have sex with them. The willingness to possess every fashionable thing which they can never afford lure them to do what’s wrong and later lead to unwanted pregnancy.

Peer Group

One of the causes of teenage pregnancy is the influence of peer groups. Some adolescents are lured into doing something bad due to peer pressure. Nowadays, we see thirteen-year-old girls having boyfriends and being gisting their friends about the experience they have with their boyfriends.

Such friends, when care is not properly taken will also be vulnerable to do what their friends are doing and later fall victim to unexpected pregnancies. It is said that bad groups corrupt good manners, being among those that embrace immoral practices.

Some children which are properly trained fall victim to unwanted pregnancy due to the kind of friends they mingle with. A lot of teenagers has been influenced by their friends.

If this corrupt and shameful act continues in our society, how do we progress intellectually, spiritually and in other aspects towards the progress of the countries?

Recommendations

Parental Roles

Since all the cases revolve around the negligence of the parent, the parent should give attention to their children and pay the sacrifices to ensure they are being taken care of. The children need attention and proper care in order to have better discipline. The parent should be conscious of where they send their ward to. While hawking, the parent should monitor the steps of their children.

The parent should acquaint them with the tricks used by men. The parents should fill this gap by letting them know the tricks used by men. They should also help provide sex education for their children.

The Government

The government also has a role to play, there should be measures put in place to curb teenage pregnancy. Anyone found in the act of raping should be properly dealt with. There should be an organised program to enlighten the teenagers on the causes, and effects of unwanted pregnancy and its consequences. This program will let the teenagers be aware of the tricks used by men to force them into sexual intercourse.

There should be sex education in school. Sex education should be added to the school curriculum, in order to enable teenagers to have needful knowledge about this. There should be severe punishment for anybody that engages in raping.

This will help to reduce the shameful act in the society. Any man found molesting a young girl should not be left unpunished.

Roles of the Teenagers

Teenagers should be mindful of the friends they associate with because bad groups corrupt good manners. They should be contented with anything they are given at home as this will not lure them into immoral practices. With the joint hands of parents, government and teenagers, teenage pregnancy can be terminated in the society.

Cite as: Adedokun Boluwatife. High Rate of Teenage Pregnancy: Causes and Recommendations. October 18, 2021. Tadexprof. Retrieved from ht tps://tadexprof.com/2021/10/high-rate-of-teenage-pregnancy-causes-and-recommendations/

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Unwanted Pregnancy and Associated Factors Among Nigerian Women. Guttmacher. Retrieved at https://www.guttmacher.org/journals/ipsrh/2006/12/unwanted-pregnancy-and-associated-factors-among-nigerian-women
Options for Unwanted Pregnancy – Healthline. Retrieved at https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/unwanted