The dumber they are the more pregnant they'll be.I realize it seems to be a harsh statement. But it's true. Teens are going through a second phase of mental development. This brain development is within the frontal lobe. The area of the brain we believe is responsible for rational decisions. The ability to weigh actions versus consequences. This is why teens have a general sense of indestructibility. It is up to us as parents and guardians to teach pre-teens consequences of their actions. This used to be handled, by past generations, with a severe beat down. Yes, with good communication and trust a parent-child relationship can effectively raise a healthy teen. If a parent is guided by fear and attempts to be a friend, you end up with a child-child relationship. Teens are naturally going to push the envelope as they are like chicks trying to fly from the nest. It is up to the parent or guardian to empower them strong healthy wings of mind, body, and Spirit.

 Not all teens are stupid.More than not, have had great parents or guardians. Most parents and guardians have done an excellent job raising their children. While 99.9% of the news would have you think the world is gone to hell in a handbag. Really listen to what's being said. For all the murder and mayhem going on in our cities this only represents a small percentage of very popular bad apples. If newscasts were to focus equally on the good teens across the nation, the newscasts would be less sensational.

 Oprah recently had a specialist on her program to help parents talk to their kids about sex. The two shows that she devoted to the topic were full of great information. However, a very important part of the conversation was missed. Sex with a minor is illegal. Now, it's a given that anyone over 18 convicted will have lifelong consequences. Jail, legal fees, and marked for life as a sexual child predator. We do not serve the welfare of our children by ignoring these truths. Many states have established trying teenagers as adults for crimes. A teen pregnancy is indisputable genetic evidence of sex with a minor.

In days of old, the father of the pregnant teen had the right to take care of this issue as he wished. Usually in one of two ways: shotgun wedding or justified, potentially lethal, harm to the violator. It was justified as a crime of passion. As any rational protective father would agree that wasn't such a bad system. In our modern society, fathers of a pregnant teens have lost some of their rights. We can push to have violators tried as adults. Even with hormones racing, when a teen has properly been taught consequences they are less likely to make bad choices.