[shawspear]

Brittney's 16 and pregnant. Her parents are angry and want her to have an abortion. Dad's angry because she lied to him about having sex. Come on dad, no girl is going to be honest about that; just simpler to lie. Sides, her heart is likely involved too. Brittney wants to keep the baby and met with Dr. Phil to talk about it. He brought . . .three girls with three different stories with him. One of the girls looked just like that girl in "Charmed", you know that one who played as a warrior in that Quinten Tarantino movie with Bruce Willis. Anyway, she told Dr. Phil and Brittney that she had gotten pregnant at a young age and decided to keep her baby. She spoke about how hard it was for her, going to school, working, and taking care of her child. The other two . . . spoke about not having regrets for the two different decisions they made whey they got pregnant at an early age. Liers. Anyway, Brittney, Dr. Phil, and her parents went to an adoption clinic to see what its like for a couple to adopt a child. Brittney got upset with her mom while they were there and mom couldn't understand why. Come on mom, you're trying to take her baby from her! And dad, how can you look at your little jewel and not just weep, just hurt for her that's she's so vulnerable, scared, and needing you to be there for her. I don't know how it turns out but I could tell mom and dad are well-off and could help Brittney if she decides to keep her child. I don't think she would regret it. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention something . . . love you jewel.

[Magic_Mikki]

Is Jewel your daughter? I'm not sure I understand this post.

[shawspear]

Hello Magic. It's meant to make the reader think. That's how I write. What fun is it to just spell everything out? A little girl is a diamond in her father's eyes.

Also for the record, I saw the second part: I was wrong. The parents are not well off and I may have written it differently had I known that from the start. I mis-read Brittney: she's giving up her baby for adoption although I do not believe she's had it yet and things can change. All I can say is if she does give it up, she'll have to deal with the after-shocks of that. I blame the media for getting her pregnant.

[ljb]

hmmm..... I can't say I'd blame the media for getting Brittney pregnant. Pretty sure that's not how it happens....

As for the adoption of the baby. I commend a person who is willing to see that adoption is the greatest gift they could give a child. There are far too many children who are unloved or neglected.

[shawspear]

Hello Ljb . . . hummm . . . they got her pregnant alright, and her boyfriend helped. I say that metaphorically of course: girls are mercilessly exposed to sexuality by the media at an inappropriate age. Face it, girls are under extreme pressure at an early age to look sexy and be sexually active, and the boys are likewise pressured into having sex at a far too early age. Not all the media, but a large part is a terrible influence on children especially girls who are innundated with images of perfect bodies, beauty, sexuality, promiscuity, glamour, and celebrity. Granted, I agree with Hugh Hefner: women are sexual objects. Not girls though. They're just little Tinkerbells even at 16 (18 too although I wouldn't call her that to her face) and we're forcing them into early sexuality by inappropriate images they see in music, TV, magazines, bill-boards, school, friends, internet, everywhere.

[ljb]

Sorry... I think the media is a cop-out excuse. Ultimately, we are all responsible for our actions. I understand the influence that the media can have on society. But at the end of the day, we each have to own up to our own decisions.

[NavGabeShiJude]

I have to agree with LJB on this one. The media has been used for years for anything that is going wrong in society.... but maybe it could possibly just be societies fault?
I grew up having images of women as sex symbols thrown into my face all the time, but miraculously made it out of my teen years without becoming pregnant. In fact any of my class mates that did get pregnant would not have blamed the media for being in their situation, they would be more likely to blame the Trojan company.
I think we need to own up to our own mistakes and stop trying to find other people to blame when the consequences are more then we expected.

[DealDebbie]

Brittany who? The one who had two children with Kevin Federline? She's not 16.

Her sister is. And her sister had a baby at 16.

Sounds to me like you want to be some kind of expert on fatherhood. Shouldn't you get your facts straight before you talk about something this important, and this well known? The topic of early sexualizing of girls is very important and dads do have something to say about that. But you don't sound like you really have a handle on it when you get the names mixed up in a story that has been widely reported.

Very confusing. I think you are trying to make a good point, but it's confusing.

[shawspear]

I can't hold a 15 year-old responsible for getting pregnant; pretty much not at all. She's still just a child. At that age they don't realize what an effect the media, friends, and boys have on their behavior. Perhaps many adults do not realize that either. Many girls are intimidated into having sex at that age and I suspect this was the case with Brittney: the boyfriend wanted to get laid and he gave her some lame story about if you love me this or that you'll do it and being an innocent girl that she was and listening to her heart, she gave in. Granted, I'm not saying she didn't like it, especially the intimacy part, and after once or twice, it became less of a critical decision for her.

She was too young (and ill-taught) to fully comprehend the reproductive cycle and really not sure when she could or could not get pregnant so she just "risked" it to be close to her boyfriend (my opinion). And I suspect he too was equally ignorant about conception and just wanted to do it. Why? Because both he and she are saturated by sexuality in our culture. I'm not against sex. I love it. It's fun. But it's a whole different story though with teens. I'm disappointed we're failing them this way.

As far as the Trojan factor, why are they havin' sex at that age anyway? Do girls at 15 really want to have sex? I don't think they do in general but you guys would know for sure about that. Rather I believe many are forced, seduced, and intimidated into having sex by their peers and the boys. And they in turn are brainwashed by the media to be sexually active.

Do you guys think the media has no responsibility in this? Do you not think if the media was more responsible it would have an effect on teen pregnancy? I believe it would have a dramatic effect.

DealDebbie . . . I don't want to spell it all out. I write it that way to make people think even at the risk of confusing some people. It's not Brittney Spears but it really doesn't matter exactly who she is. It's the concept I'm emphasizing: teen pregnancy.

[NavGabeShiJude]

As a female and one who used to be a teenager, I can honestly say that I never felt intimidated, forced or seduced into having sex. My friends and I couldn't wait to have sex with our various boyfriends and by the time we hit 16 most of us had done so.
There was no pressure from our boyfriends, and I could say no any time I wanted to, and in fact I did say no numerous times until I was ready.
I don't think you are giving teens enough credit. I know that there are a few who are still immature, but most of them hold down jobs, and make important decisions about their futures regularly. And if you spoke to a teenager recently, and not as a parent, you would quickly realize that they are a lot more mature then most were a few generations ago.
If a 15 year old gets pregnant, you shouldn't 'blame' anyone, you should, as a parent, support them to make the right decision. But to sit there and say, my child is a baby and it must be either the boy friend forcing her to have sex, or the media intimidating her to have sex, well then she will never have to take responsibility for her action in life.
Granted I don't think a 15 year old, regardless of gender, shouldn't be having sex. But I am not naive enough to think that my children won't be when they hit that age, or at least thinking about it. But I think that if children are kept busy in after school activities, clubs and sports they are less likely to be hanging around with too much time on their hands.
Just be smart and have an open relationship with your children and you are more likely to know when she has decided to make the decision to have sex, and you can hope it won't be until she is 18 or 19.