News to make a young woman cross !

[pinguthegreek]

Two things in the news which made me cross - one being why the Liverpool win at football was top story and also why they are complaining about not being able to be in Champions League next year when they should have just worked harder on their domestic game

Comments

[momentsmusicaux]

I was astounded at the mother (the mother of three -- they're ALL mothers now) -- the mother's cheek at blaming the school for lack of sex education. And as for the latest to get up the duff, didn't she NOTICE her sisters having kids? Didn't she ASK?

[pinguthegreek]

One of my mum's cousins got pregnant in the sixties and she was sent to the seaside and there was a lot of pressure on her to have the child adopted...it was a terrible shame on the family.

But it just astounds me that these three girls don't seem to have any regret about how they've left themselves for the future.

[earth_magic]

Things haven't really changed. I remember trying to get on the council house waiting list when I was in my 20s only to be told that I either had to be over 55 or have a baby to get on the list. *sigh* The only difference is that back then there was more stigma attached to getting pregnant outside of marriage.

[pinguthegreek]

I don't want to go back to the days of backstreet abortions, but what is it about young girls these days that means they say yes to sex before they even reach their teens ??

[jamaisneutral]

decent sex ed now!
decent sex ed now!
decent sex ed now!
Teenage pregnancy is often seen as a "way out" as well isn't it...

[pinguthegreek]

Yes, we do need decent sex ed, but parents should be obliged to be involved in sex ed too.

[alhewison]

Just thought I should say that the parents of teenage parents *are* responsible for them and their babies: the girls would be unable to claim benefits in their own name. But the problem is that many of these girls come from deprived areas where their parents are already on benefit. So then the parents simply claim for another child

[pinguthegreek]

I don't think washing their hands is the point. Someone needs to say at some point that they cycle has to break. Someone has to say that it is not socially acceptable to assume the state pays out for everything. I know of people who are unable to work and yet have sattelite TV ( the full package ) and can afford to smoke and drink.

I think what gets me emotional is that I have wanted kids as long as I can remember but I accept that not really feeling comfortable with the idea of living with a partner makes it a logistical impossibility. It just bugs me that irresponsibility is rewarded now. The stories about your family history should never, ever have happened. Each child should have a fresh start. But there has to be some strong incentive or disincentive for this cycle of benefit and reproduction in immature women ( technically a period makes you a woman ) to be broken.

[pinguthegreek]

Further thought : the problem could lie in the fact that benefits are cash. Maybe if the benefit was that you could specify what items were necessary, then there could be a system of delivering necessary items ( clothing, apparatus, nappies ) to a pre agreed value so that the child has sufficient to be adequately clothed and fed, without allowing the mother or the family to choose what to spend the money on ?

I have seen programmes on young single mothers who spend their income ( it was clear they were not employed ) on items for themselves. People like my cousins - one divorced and one who got married when she was expecting - make the effort to save hard so that they can afford the things they need for their children.