From the time a child is born, to the time he or she grows up, it is a joyful monent for the parents and relatives of the newborn baby. They all hope for a happy future for the infant. The joy on the face of the parents cannot be compared.
When the baby is a girl child, the parents prepare to teach the child all she needs to know as a woman; what it takes to make a good home and how to maintain it. She is prepared for adolescence through sex education.
However, there is a menace ravaging the society today and threatens the peace of a home: Teenage Pregnancy. It causes pains and emotional trauma for the child and the parents. In a normal setting, pregnancy should result from a legal marriage between a man and woman. Sadly, teens still under the roof of their parents get pregnant and even flaunt it. This has dire consequences for the future of the girl child.
A girl is expected to pass through phases before becoming a woman. Sadly, some of these girls are forced into marriage for cultural, economic or religious reasons.
Poverty is a major cause of teen pregnancy. Many children are allowed to hawk on the streets, thereby being vulnerable against sexual predators, while some of them get pregnant by mutual consent; others see it as a means to an end. With poverty ravaging many households, it is not surprising that many parents care less about how their children get money, once they have food on the table.
This is a new era. The way the society view ‘unwanted pregnancy’ has changed. In times past, the pregnant teen hardly makes public appearance, while her parents live in shame. However, in this era, the society dances to good music when she gives birth. Her parents inform the world and his wife, while they roll out the drums.
Some teenage pregnancies occur because of the apparent moral decay prevalent in the society. Before they turn sixteen, some of the teens know about sex more than their parents.
Teen Pregnancy puts the life of the baby at risk and that of the mother. Some of their fathers are not ready to be fathers, hence they deny doing anything with the young mother. Similarly, the child receives little or no secular education because of the attitude of the parents towards the ‘unwanted child’.
Going forward, parents do well to lay a solid moral foundation for their children. When they do this, they curtail the menace of teen pregnancy and save the girl child. Regular communication is important in the family as this could make the young girl to talk to the parents about anyone making inordinate advances at them.
The girl child deserves mental, emotional, cultural and economic development. One of the ways to achieve this is to put an end to teen pregnancy.