Birthrate per 1,000 girls ages 15-19:
US 42.5
UK 26.7
Portugal 16.8
Aussie 16.1
Canada 13.3
Spain 11.5
Greece 11.3
Germany 10.1
Finland 9.4
Norway 8.7
France 7.8
Italy 7.0
Sweden 5.9
Denmark 5.9
Japan 5.1
Switzerland 4.5
Netherlands 3.8
I don't know who conducted the test, but it's clear that the US government is worried about this. I didn't have time to read it thoroughly, so I just browsed the article quickly. It seems that they're trying to enforce that "no sex is the best prevention" and they're wondering what kind of sex education is the best.
One thing I wondered when I read these numbers, though...what are the numbers for Indonesia? At least in Finland if you have a kid, you'll get some motherhood benefit and child benefit, as well, but in Indo...the parents will be burdened by the cost of living and raising the kid and the grandkid.
The second thing I was thinking was, "Hey, for a country where there are red light districts and gay marriages, the Netherlands aren't that bad!"
Oh well...I have nothing to say about this. Just want to share this article. Raising a child is definitely one of the TOUGHEST things on earth!!!
P.S. I've been given another project at work: decorating the children's section's wall. Today I tried to recreate a BIG version of Tigger (from Winnie the Pooh) HE HE HE HE HE...
Very interesting article and i'm not surprsed at the USA numbers. Pregnancy rate in teens here were high when I was young but it seems nothing has changed. We do need better sex ed classes but parents themselves have to get involved and try to create an opening where the kids feel they can come to talk about anything.
ReplyDeleteAlarming, actually.
ReplyDeleteThe media and the entertainment industry have to take some responsibilities actually. All the MTVs and what no today are selling nothing but sex.
Dawn: Yeah, it's not easy to be parents, eh?
ReplyDeleteMother Hen: Indeed it's alarming. I didn't know what to say when I read the numbers. And yeah, the media also "helps" in making it feel as though "having sex at such a young age is cool".
Scary figures and it definitely shows that TV/media do make a difference, I think. :-(
ReplyDelete