Why The Rate of teen Pregnancy and Drug and Alcohol Abuse has risen in The Past Decade
Raising a teenager today is quite a different world than it was just 25 years ago and certainly a far different one than two generations ago. Many teenagers have a great deal of freedom away from their parents as well with both parents working full time jobs giving them more opportunities to get themselves in more trouble says a Cleveland DUI attorney. For the first time in a decade, the teen pregnancy rate has risen as well as the number of teenagers who are sent to rehabilitation centers to eliminate addictions to drugs and alcohol according to a Cleveland DUI lawyer. What can parents and schools do to change this problem around and get teenagers headed on a better path? That is what will be discussed in this article.
One of the largest controversial subjects in schools continues to be whether they should teach student sex education centered on abstinence or whether it should be based on current facts and teaching them about safety options such as contraception. The truth is that by the time teenagers are 18 years old, most of them are sexually active and have not listened to the abstinence lessons that they were told. Proponents of teaching safe sex to teenagers say it is time to face reality and that teens will continue to have sex. They need to be taught the consequences of their actions through educating them about STD’s, pregnancy and the various options of contraception and how to use them properly.
Drugs and alcohol use among teenagers has been an issue for several generations and one that parents of teenagers have had to handle for a long time. The drinking age was raised from 18 to 21 across the nation because they associated a huge number of automobile accidents with underage teens who were also drinking. The new wave of drug abuse is now using prescription medications abusively. Parents should lock up all of their alcohol or medications from their teenagers whether they think they are doing that or not but a large number are.
Some newly constructed high schools in the country are trying to prevent teenagers from bringing illegal drugs on to school grounds by not giving them with lockers to store it in and by having drug sniffing dogs patrol the schools frequently. Educating kids in elementary school and then again in the beginning of middle school on the dangers of drug and alcohol use using graphic images may work. Also, keeping your teenager busy in sports, music and other after school clubs or jobs is one of the best ways to cut down on the use of drugs and alcohol too.
Another problem with teenagers are the number of car accidents that happen. The states that require hours of practice before getting a license or that allow permits to younger teenagers are the ones with the greater number of crashes. The laws should be consistent state to state and the requirements for driving hours and instruction should be greater too.