The Spears family saga continues with the announcement by Britney Spears’ mother, Lynn Spears, that she would be writing a parenting book.
A what-not-to-do book on parenting would be more believable, as her daughter, Jamie Lynn, followed in her sister’s footsteps and announced her pregnancy.
The sad thing is Jamie Lynn is probably the most normal in the Spears family, yet she’s viewed the same because of her pregnancy. At 16 she’s probably not ready to have a baby. But financially, she’ll be fine.
The case is not the same, however, for many teen moms.
About 750,000 teens between 15-19 get pregnant each year, and 79 percent of them are unmarried according to a teen pregnancy report by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit sexual and reproductive health research group.
Clearly, girls from higher-income families will have a significant advantage in raising their children than girls from lower-income families.
In general, the number of teenage pregnancies has declined since its high in the 90s because of increased contraceptive use. However, the majority of teenage pregnancies are unplanned and almost half end in abortion.
Sadly, when a girl in Hollywood like Jamie Lynn has a child, it almost becomes trendy.
Her audience is younger girls because of her Nickelodeon show, “Zoey 101”, and they are more easily influenced by her behavior although what their parents are teaching them may contradict it.
I learned a long time ago that the right thing to do would be to get married first before having sex, and certainly not before I was an adult.
I have parents who are more understanding than most who would be disappointed in me if I were pregnant now, much less at 15 or 16.
I know how lucky I am as far as family goes, but I feel like young women don’t realize what they are doing when they have sex irresponsibly, and it is especially hard when celebrities are not ashamed to show their behavior.
Although Jamie Lynn isn’t necessarily advocating teen pregnancy and has no obligation to be a good role model, I think that actresses and actors need to consider the amount of influence they have on people, especially young adults.
Young adults are still learning how to behave properly, and as much as I hate to admit it, I’ve made decisions in the past based on the behavior of others
It’s not Jamie Lynn’s fault that the teen pregnancy rate is higher in the U.S. than that of any other country, according to United Nations Childrens Fund.
But young women in Hollywood should use their influence to show girls something better than what has been shown them over the past year.
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