TEEN PARENTING IN SEATTLE
There are a lot of teen parents in the world today! In 1995, 512,115 females under 20 years of age got pregnant in the U.S. The pregnancy rate for 15 to 17 year old teens in the state of Washington has been declining since the late 1980’s. It is not always bad to be a teen parent but, for some teens it is too much to handle. There have been many reports of unsuccessful teen parents. But, there are many young parents who do a wonderful job of raising their children. We would like to focus on teen parents in Seattle. There are many wonderful teen parents right here in our city.
Health: According to the Washington State Department of Health, pregnant teens are risking the health of the babies inside them. They even say that teens babies are smaller. Look at our statistics and see what we have found. These babies are not all that small.(look below in research!)
Welfare: Welfare for teen parents is a big issue also. Suprisingly to most people, only 7.6% of welfare moms were teens in 1992. 47.8% were between 30 and 40 years old.
Success: There are various reasons why teen parents in Seattle have been leading successful lives in the past few years. These reasons include; programs, schools, and acceptance.
Programs: There are thousands of teen parenting programs. There are counseling services, financial services, childcare programs, healthcare, and family planning programs. These programs can help teens successfully raise their children.
Schools: Teen mothers who return to school after their baby is born are less likely to have another child. So, if they have something to do and they have support they can get through teen parenting much easier. Most teens can find support through their local highschool or even better at an alternative school. They can find childcare, and counseling through school as well as friends.
Acceptance: Teen parents are much more accepted into today’s society than they were 40 years ago. Then they were considered abusing their children and were called sluts. There were a lot of young girls who were disowned by their families and shunned by their community. They were not offered help and were treated like animals. Teen parents in today’s society should be forgiven for mistakes and should not be stereotyped! There are some really great teen parents!
Want to know more?
Teen parenting programs
RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
