Britney Spears’s sister and teenage pregnancies
Saira Rizwan
December 21, 2007
It is the failure of parents and society to help children differentiate between fiction sold by the entertainment industry and real life. The parents and their children without recognizing this critical difference will never be able to help children emulate characters from real world. They should not blame actress Lynn for every wrong that is associated with teenage pregnancies.
The pregnancy news of Britney’s sister Jamie Lynn, a famous teenage star and a role modal for her four million viewers is causing a lot of hue and cry. Parents of teen girls are not so happy with this news. And are concerned about the effects it will have on their girls.
In all probability, her holly wood surroundings have a role because with so many senior female stars proudly showing their baby bumps, Lynn may have followed the trend. At least her decision to announce the pregnancy news through a magazine supports the assertion. She reportedly withheld news of her pregnancy for month from her family. Those judging her decision to keep the pregnancy or get pregnant in the first place must not forget the influence of world she was in.
Statically speaking she is now another figure. In 2006, some 500,000 American teenagers got pregnant. Fifty percent of such pregnancies abort spontaneously, 25% abortions are induced and remaining 25% are born. Lynn by opting to keep her pregnancy has joined the last group.
Medically speaking, teenage pregnancies lead to multiple complications including sexually transmitted diseases (STD), Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis B and AIDS (HIV). The matter of concern however is the effectiveness of government sponsored sexual education program to enhance teenage awareness about sex. In this regard, the eye of the storm is the parents criticism of distribution of contraception pills to girls as young as 11 years old versus state’s concern for teenage mother’s and the baby’s health.
Another equally important issue is the unprotected sex. In Lynn’s case, her pregnancy has once again brought the issue under spotlight. The pregnancy shows that like most teenagers Lynn’s pregnancy is a result of unprotected sex. This will bring the health officials, social workers, politicians back to the drawing boards to review and devise effective strategy to control unwanted pregnancies and avoid serious medical implications leading to infertility and HIV etc. These interrelated issues are serious challenges in itself.
The unwanted pregnancies for the young mothers itself have social, economic and emotional complications. In most cases the girls are forced to leave education that in itself initiates a chain of events that in majority cases pushes mothers into eternal loop of poverty. Their children end up in foster care, which leaves many young mothers and their children emotionally scarred for life. The child itself will be deprived of parental love and normal life.
Experts have been quick to point out role of parents in controlling teenage pregnancies. They are recommending “Listening” to teenagers in addition to talking to children. In wake of 66% divorce rate the role of parent is being over emphasized. In absence of parents and single parents who are mostly over-worked these recommendations will only have limited result. Therefore, the state, the schools, health workers need to come up with concrete recommendations instead of assigning responsibility to parents only.
Lynn is an actress who was delivering lines script. The parents should never have taken her as a role modal in the first place because she is an average teenage girl living and working in the world of entertainment, which has its own ethical and moral standards. In Hollywood, forty nine percent disapprove adultery as compared to 85% in rest of America. It is the failure of parents and society to help children differentiate between fiction sold by the entertainment industry and real life. The parents and their children without recognizing this critical difference will never be able to help children emulate characters from real world. They should not blame actress Lynn for every wrong that is associated with teenage pregnancies. Maybe it is time the church also plays its role to enhance awareness of teenagers about such issues to help them prepare for the practical life.
Finally, Lynn is only another teenager who got pregnant. The only difference is she is a star. The good thing is she is pro-life and majority has appreciated her decision to keep the baby. In US reportedly, 1.1 million abortions were conducted last year. However, instead of calling for dropping her from the future programs or withdrawing advertisements the concerned should address the issue on permanent basis. This is only possible through increasing teenage awareness about pregnancies, protected sex and medical complications. The government should facilitate civil society, health department, parents and community at large to face the daunting challenge.
The pregnancy news of Britney’s sister Jamie Lynn, a famous teenage star and a role modal for her four million viewers is causing a lot of hue and cry. Parents of teen girls are not so happy with this news. And are concerned about the effects it will have on their girls.
In all probability, her holly wood surroundings have a role because with so many senior female stars proudly showing their baby bumps, Lynn may have followed the trend. At least her decision to announce the pregnancy news through a magazine supports the assertion. She reportedly withheld news of her pregnancy for month from her family. Those judging her decision to keep the pregnancy or get pregnant in the first place must not forget the influence of world she was in.
Statically speaking she is now another figure. In 2006, some 500,000 American teenagers got pregnant. Fifty percent of such pregnancies abort spontaneously, 25% abortions are induced and remaining 25% are born. Lynn by opting to keep her pregnancy has joined the last group.
Medically speaking, teenage pregnancies lead to multiple complications including sexually transmitted diseases (STD), Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, Hepatitis B and AIDS (HIV). The matter of concern however is the effectiveness of government sponsored sexual education program to enhance teenage awareness about sex. In this regard, the eye of the storm is the parents criticism of distribution of contraception pills to girls as young as 11 years old versus state’s concern for teenage mother’s and the baby’s health.
Another equally important issue is the unprotected sex. In Lynn’s case, her pregnancy has once again brought the issue under spotlight. The pregnancy shows that like most teenagers Lynn’s pregnancy is a result of unprotected sex. This will bring the health officials, social workers, politicians back to the drawing boards to review and devise effective strategy to control unwanted pregnancies and avoid serious medical implications leading to infertility and HIV etc. These interrelated issues are serious challenges in itself.
The unwanted pregnancies for the young mothers itself have social, economic and emotional complications. In most cases the girls are forced to leave education that in itself initiates a chain of events that in majority cases pushes mothers into eternal loop of poverty. Their children end up in foster care, which leaves many young mothers and their children emotionally scarred for life. The child itself will be deprived of parental love and normal life.
Experts have been quick to point out role of parents in controlling teenage pregnancies. They are recommending “Listening” to teenagers in addition to talking to children. In wake of 66% divorce rate the role of parent is being over emphasized. In absence of parents and single parents who are mostly over-worked these recommendations will only have limited result. Therefore, the state, the schools, health workers need to come up with concrete recommendations instead of assigning responsibility to parents only.
Lynn is an actress who was delivering lines script. The parents should never have taken her as a role modal in the first place because she is an average teenage girl living and working in the world of entertainment, which has its own ethical and moral standards. In Hollywood, forty nine percent disapprove adultery as compared to 85% in rest of America. It is the failure of parents and society to help children differentiate between fiction sold by the entertainment industry and real life. The parents and their children without recognizing this critical difference will never be able to help children emulate characters from real world. They should not blame actress Lynn for every wrong that is associated with teenage pregnancies. Maybe it is time the church also plays its role to enhance awareness of teenagers about such issues to help them prepare for the practical life.
Finally, Lynn is only another teenager who got pregnant. The only difference is she is a star. The good thing is she is pro-life and majority has appreciated her decision to keep the baby. In US reportedly, 1.1 million abortions were conducted last year. However, instead of calling for dropping her from the future programs or withdrawing advertisements the concerned should address the issue on permanent basis. This is only possible through increasing teenage awareness about pregnancies, protected sex and medical complications. The government should facilitate civil society, health department, parents and community at large to face the daunting challenge.
Print
Email
