IMG: Zuma Press

Earlier this month Bristol appeared to be a spokesperson for abstinence for the National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day. She plans on becoming an advocate for the prevention of teen pregnancy. Bristol says that she hopes more will not do what she did and learn from her experiences. I must ask, when you see a young, pretty mom in a cap and gown while holding her baby and waving is this discouraging to our kids…our teens?

According to Bristol thought, this is the message she wants girls to get:

“Girls need to imagine and picture their life with a screaming newborn baby and then think before they have sex. Think about the consequences. If girls realized the consequences of sex, nobody would be having sex. Trust me. Nobody.”

It’s too bad the magazine didn’t shoot a picture of her in a gown with spit up on it and a crying child in her arms. Or maybe even her hair a mess and sleepy eyes. That would’ve painted a different picture for teens that were contemplating it. What’s your opinion?

Post from: Blisstree

Does Bristol Palin Inspire Teen Pregnancy?

Katy Lee, at Adventures in Parenting, has some good insights on this topic in the post, Is abstinence realistic?

Image: sxc.hu

Other related questions: “What should parents be telling their teens about abstinence?  How much is it the responsibility of the parents to inform youngsters and discuss the consequences?”

What’s your opinion on abstinence and teens?

Post from: Blisstree

Discussion About Abstinence for Teens

I do not mean this in a tabloid-y gossipy way. I think that these two kids are in a situation that unfortunately happens to teens all over the world, but in their case, it is playing out in the media to a certain point. Kids that age, they are still figuring things out, still very much driven by their hormones or their peers.  They are still in the learning-to-be-a-human phase.

Apparently, I am not alone in my curiousity as Levi Johnston appeared on the Tyra Banks show recently. He spoke about a tension between himself and Bristol. From what I can see, he isn’t trying to sell out as much as …. well, he’s a kid. He’s not saying Sarah Palin is a bitch, Bristol is a puppet, he’s just saying this is what is going on, this is the reality of his situation, as he sees it. Maybe he is a cad to continue to talk about it, but he is a kid. He’ll figure that out later.

I have a couple of very good friends who were teenage parents and contrary to popular belief, their lives were not over with the birth of first one and then a second unplanned bundle of joy. They dug in deeper, worked harder, loved fiercer and are living a life most people dream about.  Challenges are there to make you stronger, to see what you are made of. 

I could be wrong about this kid, but I think that his wanting to see his boy, even when negative statements are made in the press about him, I think he’s going to do alright by that child. Perhaps he will even do right by the child’s young mother. 

He said, in his Tyra Banks interview, that Sarah Palin “probably” knew that they were having sex. “Moms are smart,” he said. Moms are smart and facing some truths about my own teens, well it has not been easy, but we are all human and we crave human contact. People who love each other, whatever their age, they want to take that next step.  Sex. It’s biology,  baby.

So sure teach abstinence as a choice, but please, be realistic about human nature and offer information about birth control, as well.

Image credit: All Posters.com

Post from: Blisstree

Levi Johnston Is Not A Cad

This happened in my family when my sister was barely 19. My sister married the guy; They’re now divorced. Their youngest daughter Ashley, now 16, is hanging out with us this week for spring break and I’m getting a crash course in high-schooler-ology. Sure, teach abstinence, but we’re talking about a group of hormone-raging kids who think they know far more about life than us adults. She seems like a good kid – swears she’s a virgin. I just hope she uses her head.

Here is some encouraging news for parents (and aunts) of teenagers and young adults. A new provision in the proposed budget signed by President Obama last week could help significantly reduce the cost of birth control for young women by allowing pharmaceutical companies to reinstate discounts on contraceptives that they had previously offered to family planning clinics. Those discounts had been slashed because of a 2005 federal law, designed to save taxpayers money on Medicaid reimbursements for drugs. An unfortunate side effect of that law financially dissuaded pharmaceutical companies from selling their products to these pharmacies at reduced prices. So women began to see contraceptive pills and product costs rise from $5 to $10 a month to $30 to $50 a month. While there is no guarantee pharmaceutical companies will discount their birth control meds, at least now they are not discouraged to do so.

Sources:
New York Daily News
Associated Press
Photo, Sancya/AP

JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

Clinics May Soon Offer Discounted BC Pills

It’s not working – but, let’s keep doing it and expect a different result and call it “the right thing.”

That seems to be the logic of abstinence-only education.

Isn’t that also the definition of insanity?

Post from: Blisstree

Sex Education & Bristol Palin