Preteen pregnancy causes media frenzy

It seems as if the media has been obsessed with babies lately, especially the controversial ones. Although no one wants to admit it, many people are tuned into shows such as “Secret Life of the American Teenager” and those infamous “Maury” show episodes dealing with paternity tests, and young teens so “will do whateva they want,” and have a baby. There has been a glamorization of pregnancy, with celebrity baby coverage from in the womb to the toddler years and beyond, and especially with teenage pregnancy. Not that having babies is not a special and wonderful thing, it is just that the whole idea of the actual responsibility of caring for a baby is being overlooked. Another case of teenage pregnancy raised media attention last week in England, and not because the new mother was Britney Spears’ sister or the Republican vice president candidate’s daughter.
Chantelle Steadman, 15, and Alfie Patten, 13, made headlines when they had a daughter, Maisie. More unbelievable than the age of the pre-teen pair, is the rather delusional world they both live in. Patten was quoted as saying that the couple “really wanted to have a family, but were scared about how people would react.” The pair found out they were pregnant 12 weeks into the pregnancy because they went to the doctor together, where once they admitted to having sex the doctor gave Steadman a pregnancy test. The pair kept their future child a secret for another six weeks, and only said something when Steadman’s mother confronted her daughter because she was concerned with her rapid and unusual weight gain. Patten’s father is clearly worried about his son because in interviews he has stated over and over how he knows his child does not know what he got himself into, and from hearing Patten himself talk it is obvious a mistake was made. He gets nervous when asked about money and supporting his family, and when asked how he will support his baby financially he replies, “What’s financially?”
The whole story is disturbing because of how young these children are that are having children. It is scary they are excited and thrilled and not thinking about the future. This is not just true for this couple, but also for much of society today. People are not thinking about the responsibility and consequences of their actions, especially teenagers. Pre-marital sex is an extremely common practice these days, and it starts as young as middle school. It is a problem there are still some limits to what can be taught in sex education classes when teenage pregnancy rates are higher than ever. It’s not enough to say, “Just don’t have sex, stick with abstinence.” That will just make teens want to do it more. They should be taught safe sex practices and methods of contraception. They should also be taught to take sex and starting a family seriously, and that it is not like how it is portrayed in the media. The media makes it seem so easy, and even when a pregnant teen is depicted dealing with the hardships of pregnancy, it always seems like they come out shining in the end. That’s not reality; it’s fantasy.
Girls and boys are like are becoming overtly sexual at early ages, maybe not with their dialogue to one another or their actions, but in their dress. Middle school girls emulate the likes of Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens, who are dressing in short shorts and pumps at a young age. Style and fashion always tend to be copied and worn out, but when a 13 year old starts prancing around the mall with her friends in a full face of make up, a mini skirt and boots, it is hard to not think society and methods of raising children are taking a turn for the worse. Parents want to be cool and be friends with their kids, but lines should be drawn. It is not flattering of our culture to accept and encourage that young girls dress like hookers and make “prostitots” out of themselves. An episode of “South Park” showed it best when Paris Hilton came to town and all the girls wanted to dress like “stupid spoiled sluts.” Boys are not left out of this problem either. Shows like “The Pick-Up Artist” make it seem like the only important thing in life is the ability to pick up and seduce women, and the more you get, the bigger man you are. It is wrong that these things are acceptable in society and changes need to be made.
Bristol Palin recently said in an interview that abstinence is not realistic for all teens, and she hit the nail on the head. It is not realistic for adults today to just assume that their children are not doing it. The talk about “the birds and the bees” should happen, no matter how awkward they think it is, before it’s too late. In the case of Alfie Patten, his father tried talking to him after baby Maisie was born, and it still proved to be too awkward so he stopped, but said he’ll keep trying. Talking about sex should not just consist of the biological process, but also how and why it is special, and should be handled with care. If parents and teens can create some sort of a dialogue about sex and teens can be free to ask their parents questions or for advice, maybe teenage pregnancy rates will be lowered. Communication is the key.