For quite some time now, teenage pregnancy has been our Achilles’ heel as a society and not much has been done to mitigate the situation.
It has been said countless times that without proper parental guidance and communication, and with a lack of development and poor education, the status quo will remain the same.
Nothing will change and our poor children will continue to be impregnated by either children of the same age or even worse, those who were supposed to protect them, such as uncles.
In some cases, teenagers go to school far away from their parents, leading them to become independent much earlier than they were supposed to. They give in to peer pressure and end up indulging in unprotected sexual activity.
They even cohabit and some join bad groups and become irresponsible.
They start smoking illegal substances and drink alcohol.
Because a child or teenager cannot be monitored 24/7, that’s where good parental guidance comes in.
Children need to be mentally equipped to deal with external factors and anything potentially negative, so they can make sound decisions.
As a result, your child will be able to look after themselves with or without your presence.
That’s very crucial, as your young one will become a better person in future.
Enough education and awareness should be the order of the day when we raise children.
They must know that education is the best weapon for self-empowerment and to fight poverty.
- Mamatonyane Maila
Tshwane
- Education yes, but also contraception. The absurdity of telling teenagers to abstain from sex is not working.
What we also need to do is make sure young men are also respectful of women and understand the ramifications of sleeping with someone without a condom.
This letter wins our R200 prize today. Call Nthabiseng at our offices to collect. – Deputy Editor
