The Effects of Teenage Pregnancy on Children The children of teenage mothers have to face overwhelming obstacles during the course of their lives. The incidents of depression, mental health problems, lack of father figures, and the high rate of poverty often connected to children in homes run by teenage mothers put them at a serious disadvantage when compared to children raised in a nuclear family (Jewell). Many people believe that the implementation of sex education in schools and the addition of federal aid for single parents are major causes for the country's high rate of teen pregnancies. However, the true purpose of sex education and federal aid is to help strengthen the mother and her child so that they can eventually lead productive lives (R.E.C.A.P.P.).  The absence of a father figure in the home brings about a chain reaction of dilemmas. The emotional problems that children might suffer because there is no father in their life can be potentially hazardous to their futures. These powerful emotions have the potential to do permanent damage in a child's life.  Children may experience depression, aggressive behavior, frequent illness, difficulty in school, eating problems, or sleeping disorders (Jewell). Many children that live in a single-parent household also suffer from various social difficulties and self-esteem problems. The pressure that children raised by teenage parents are put under is tremendous. Children with only one parent present in the home often feel unloved, and for a child there is nothing as painful as parental rejection. Males are affected differently by the absence of a father than females are. A boy needs a male role model in his life so that he can learn how to become a man. Children who don't have good role models often choose negative, unsavory characters to mold themselves after. "Males that grow up in one-parent homes may gain negative personality traits like immaturity, laziness, and disrespect for women (Meurer). "Females who grow up without fathers in the home usually result in bad relationships with men (Hinckely).  “They subconsciously want to make up for the affection that they didn't receive from their fathers. They become too dependent on men because they want someone who can replace their father. These women usually don't know how to relate to other males and they have the wrong idea about what a relationship should be like.”  Girls may even grow up to hate men because of an unconscious resentment toward absent fathers. The shift from the traditional nuclear family to one-parent homes has been dramatic in the United States. In many Western industrialized societies, the one-parent family is becoming more common and tolerated (Vital Statistics). Since 1970, the percentage of children living with single parents has doubled, from 12 to 27 percent, partly because of the increase in the divorce rate and the number of unmarried parents. Single parent families now include more than 18 million children and comprise the most common non-nuclear family (Meurer).  This is a startling statistic considering the fact that crime and poverty is directly related to children who are raised by teenage parents. Teenagers faced with the harsh reality of raising children are usually unprepared to handle the responsibility. A lot of men try to run away from the problem. They can then reject their children and neglect to provide any kind of financial assistance for them. The mother is ultimately left alone to juggle the task of raising the children and earning all or most of the family income needed to support them (Abstinence, Anyone?). Often, teen mothers have to rely on government aid such as Welfare, W.I.C., Focus Hope, project housing, and Medicaid. These mothers are only able to give their children the bare minimum for survival. It seems unfair that these children have to suffer for the mistakes of their parents. Children raised by teenage parents are brought into a highly competitive world where they start life at a handicap (Jewell). It is practically impossible for a single parent to raise kids, work a job, and pay all of the bills and utilities. The build up of all of these pressures causes enormous physical and mental stress on both the mother and child. Now that the country is realizing how the problem of teen pregnancy affects not only children, but also society at large, numerous options have become available. For example, sex education is being taught in schools and clinics everyday (R.E.C.A.P.P.). There are also many classes open to mothers on how to raise a child and how to teach values and ethics in the home. Perhaps ignorance about vital subjects like birth control methods, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, male/female relationships, love, dating, and marriage is a primary reason why there are so many pregnancies by teenage mothers. The more people that are educated about pre-marital sex and its consequences, the more likely it is that teen pregnancy rates will decrease (Zimbardo). According to Child Trends, teen pregnancies and teen birth rates have declined drastically since the early 1990s.  “In the last few years, we've made remarkable progress in reducing the teen birth rate,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Donna E. Shalala (U.S. Teenage Birthrate at Record Low).  The decline is mainly due to the increase in abstinence and the increase in the use of contraception. In 1982, less than half of teenage girls used contraception the first time they had sex.  However, by 1995, more than three-fourths reported using some form of contraception the first time (Teen Sex Trends). Perhaps another reason for the decline in teenage birthrates is an increase in the number of abortions performed on teenage girls.  In 1974, abortions were only given to 14 per 1000 teenage girls.  This number had increased, by 1997, to 22 per 1000 girls.  These abortions accounted for 50.3% of all pregnancy outcomes in Canada (Buske).  Teen pregnancy is a controversial issue because it effects society as a whole. Teenage mothers often raise children who never learn how to live productive lifestyles. Negative elements like drug addiction and crime often become outlets for these lonely, confused children. Many of these children become victims of the teenage pregnancy epidemic therefore perpetuating the vicious cycle of poverty, poor education, joblessness, and lack of hope for the future (Vital Statistics). Teenage girls that get pregnant in our community become overwhelmed with the pressures of supporting their children financially while trying to instill morals and ethics in their lives. We as a community need to come together and teach prevention. The problems of a teenage mother and her children eventually become the problem of all of society. Children come first because they are our future. Educating teens and their families about the responsibilities and the risks of having sex is a must in the effort to reduce teenage pregnancies (Zimbardo). Works Cited “Abstinence, Anyone?” Commonweal 128.2 (January 26, 2001): 5-7. Buske, Lynda.  “Teen Pregnancy Rate Down, Abortion Rate Up.”  Canadian Medical Association Journal  164.3 (February 6, 2001): 395. Hinckley, Gordon B. "The Teaching of Values: Putting the Father Back as the Head of the Family." Social Science and Medicine (November 15, 1998). Jewell, D. “Teenage Pregnancy: Whose Problem is it?” Fam Pract 17.6 (December 2000): 522-528. Meurer, John R. "Clinical Problems and Counseling for Single-parent Families." American Family Physician 54 (1996) : 864-868. R.E.C.A.P.P. “Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.” http://www.etr.org/recapp/column/index.htm April 23, 2001. “Teen Sex Trends.”  Futurist 34.5 (September 2000):  7. “U.S. Teenage Birth Rate at Record Low.”  Nation’s Health 30.9 (October 2000):  6. “Vital Statistics.” U.S. News & World Report 130.9 (March 5, 2001): 8. Zimbardo, Phillip G. “Reducing Teenage Pregnancy.” http://www.plannedparenthood.org/library/TEEN-PREGNANCY/Reducing.html April 23, 2001.