Teen Pregnancy and Its Effects on Education free essay sample

Teen pregnancy is an epidemic that has swept our nation for many years. It can alter the lives of teenagers in extreme measures. It is almost normal to see a teenager with a baby in today’s society. Getting pregnant while you’re a teen will definitely cause you to have to change your life style to accompany a child. This could mean not going to school or potentially dropping out of school permanently. Teen pregnancy will have a negative effect on the education of the teenager because it will force them to be committed full time to the concerns and needs of the child. One of the major concerns of having a child or becoming a parent is to do so when youre old and mature enough to take on the responsibility. One of the problems in todays society is teenage pregnancy. The risk of pregnancy in teenagers is increasing largely. We will write a custom essay sample on Teen Pregnancy and Its Effects on Education or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Many teenagers dont know how big of a responsibility it is to raise another human being when they themselves still have a lot of growing to do. 18% of U. S teens have experienced sex prior to the age of fifteen. Teenagers need to be more educated about themselves and their bodies as well as ways to protect themselves from getting pregnant if theyre sexually active. Becoming a teen parent automatically gives you a big responsibility to deal with. This means that all of your personal priorities are set aside and that your child comes first. Most teens dont even know how to take care of a child. Taking care of your own child isnt like babysitting; it is a full time job. Dealing with children involves a lot of patience, which a lot of teens dont have. When you have a child you have to be committed to that child every moment and every second of every day. There are no breaks when it comes to being a parent. If you have a child then they will come first even before school. This is where having a child at a young age becomes a problem. The teenager doesn’t have time to be in class and dealing with school work when they have a baby at home. Then it becomes a hassle to have to attend school when you have a baby to worry about. When the teenager begins to not do their work because they are preoccupied with a baby then they fall behind. Some schools even pressure the pregnant teen mothers to attend a continuation school so they will have more time to take care of their child. Sierra Brooks states, â€Å"Upland High School told me that it would be in my best interest to attend Hillside Continuation School. They persuaded me to leave by telling me that I wouldn’t have class everyday and that I would have more time to be with my son. † The school she went to made it seem as if her attending a continuation school would be better suited for her and her situation of having a baby while she was still in high school. Sierra was only a freshman in high school when she became pregnant. The father made it clear that he was not going to support her having a baby that earlier and so he left her on her on. Her mother and sisters were the only ones who would be helping her. So continuation school seemed like a good idea. Eventually Sierra would stop going to school and start working. Her dropping out school was the biggest mistake of her life. â€Å"Now I work doing inventory for various stores around the city and it is extremely hard. I either work early in the morning or late at night and the job doesn’t pay me for the gas I use driving to the stores. † It is evident that her not finishing at the high school had a major impact on her life. She still has no diploma. She is currently working towards her GED. â€Å"I have to find a babysitter for my son every Friday while I go to school. Sierra struggles everyday trying to juggle school, work, and taking care of her son with no help from the baby’s father. She does have a child support case open on him but it does not help when it comes to having to take care of him. She is all alone making her have to provide for the baby on her on. She has given her son 3 birthday parties and 3 Christmas’ on her own. If she would have at least graduated she would have her diploma and could be working on her degree to provide a better life for her and her son. Dealing with the responsibility of being a parent is one of the hardest tasks to take on. Becoming a parent involves emotion, compassion, dedication, strength, knowledge, protectiveness, and being able to financially support the child. All these seem to outweigh the importance of school. It is a possibility that the teenagers see the crisis of being pregnant something that needs to be dealt with immediately and place school in the back of their minds. The problem is when they put school off they never seem to think about going back until times get rough. Sometimes years go by and they realize that they are grown and their children are in school and that they never even received their diploma. Teen pregnancy is declining though. It is mostly because of the advances in birth control practices but also teenagers are realizing the potential harm having a baby can do to their future. More teens have seen their older sibling or friends with a baby and don’t see them going out to parties or the club anymore and realize it has to do with a baby. Teens really want to have fun and still be kids and even if they don’t see how a baby can affect their future they know it can ruin their social life. 20% of the decline in teen pregnancy since the early 1990s is due to decreased sexual activity. Most teens are starting to promote abstinence and not have sex.