Kids Will Do Anything To Fit In These Days
Yesterday was the joyous day that the world welcomed the birth of the newest member of the Spears family (born to 17-year old Jamie Lynn Spears) but just one day earlier, Time magazine published a news report on a shocking discovery at a Massachusetts high school in Glouchester. According to the Time report, a group of girls at Gloucester High School entered into a “pregnancy pact” in order to try and become more popular … that is, the girls did everything they could to get pregs in order to be “cool” and “loved”. Some are blaming this mad notion on the popularity of movies like Juno and on the attention that JL Spears has enjoyed since revealing that she got pregnant late last year, but it seems to me more a matter of lax sex education:
As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there’s been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, “some girls seemed more upset when they weren’t pregnant than when they were,” Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. “We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy,” the principal says, shaking his head … “Families are broken,” says school superintendent Christopher Farmer. “Many of our young people are growing up directionless.” The girls who made the pregnancy pact—some of whom, according to Sullivan, reacted to the news that they were expecting with high fives and plans for baby showers—declined to be interviewed. So did their parents. But Amanda Ireland, who graduated from Gloucester High on June 8, thinks she knows why these girls wanted to get pregnant. Ireland, 18, gave birth her freshman year and says some of her now pregnant schoolmates regularly approached her in the hall, remarking how lucky she was to have a baby. “They’re so excited to finally have someone to love them unconditionally,” Ireland says. “I try to explain it’s hard to feel loved when an infant is screaming to be fed at 3 a.m.” The high school has done perhaps too good a job of embracing young mothers. Sex-ed classes end freshman year at Gloucester, where teen parents are encouraged to take their children to a free on-site day-care center. Strollers mingle seamlessly in school hallways among cheerleaders and junior ROTC. “We’re proud to help the mothers stay in school,” says Sue Todd, CEO of Pathways for Children, which runs the day-care center.
I have to say, I am totally shocked by this. It’s one thing to see this sort of thing in movies or to see it happen among wealthy celebrities but to consider that there are girls out there … groups of girls … who have been inspired by these sorts of things to get pregnant by any means necessary (a homeless man?!) just so that they can fit in … it is so sad. I mean, who or what is to blame? Can this sort of behavior really be blamed on extraneous influences or is it more a matter of class society? I cannot say that having babies is wrong but for children at such a young age to make this sort of decision on their own with only the support of their like-minded friends to encourage and support them seems entirely wrong … and extremely sad. Who knows if this sort of thing is happening in other parts of the country … and if so, what can be done to help educate these kids that what they are doing is wrong and very dangerous (ie. the unprotected sex with whoever just to get pregs). I’d be very interested to see if this sort of “pregnancy pact” phenomenon is more widespread … or just a localized thing. If anything, this proves that safe-sex education is of dire importance. Man … this is just so crazy.
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June 20th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
The only difference is…Juno is a fictional character and JL is already a celebrity…UNFORTCH- these ordinary girls will gain nothing from this stupid stunt aside from a child to be responsible for.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Oh my goodness o_o that’s insane!! 17?! Wow. What a bunch of idiots. To actually be that stupid to do something like that they probably weren’t going to pass highschool anyway…
June 20th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Geez, I am 27 and married and raising a baby has been tough enough (wonderful, but very hard). I can’t believe these girls would be so delusional. After the baby shower is over you have a life time ahead of you of being responsible for another life. I’m tempted to call these girls dumb but I have a feeling it’s their parents who must be clueless.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
how ignorant are kids these days?! and, where in the hell are their parents? i was smart enough to use BC at age 17 while having sex, but it failed. so i was unlucky enough to get pregnant while a senior in high school. it was not easy, i can tell you. the morning sickness, being tired all the time, getting huge. in the 90s, it was not a cool thing to be pregnant, you were considered a slut, even when you had a long-term bf. anyway, i graduated high school, got married, had two more kids, got my college degrees (just finishing off my doctorate’s). BUT, at age 34, i never had my teenage years or my young adult years to have fun. sure, i am very successful in my marriage, my role as a mother, but i lost out all those years of finding myself, being a carefree, young adult, and having virtually no responsibility. so, all you youngsters, keep your legs shut and keep it in your pants. enjoy your freedom while you still have it!!!!!
June 20th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Ok to be fair, Juno is first of all a movie, and second of all clearly displays what a bad idea teen pregnancy is. Juno gives her baby up for adoption. i think it would certainly at least help not to glamorize things like J.L. Spears getting pregs. I have an 8 year old daughter, and when we first heard little J.L. was pregnant, my husband and I were livid that she got to keep her show and that some were reporting this like it was totally acceptable. That teen pregnancy is a fact of life can’t be denied, and Trent I think you’re right that we need much much better safe sex education in place, but at the same time, there’s a difference between accepting the reality that teen pregnancy exists and glorifying it when it;s a celebrity just because she is famous. Yes, J.L. has money and that will help enable her to hire people to help raise her baby, but emotionally and developmentally she is still a child trying to raise a child. Maybe if other girls saw that instead of everyone reporting on how “cute” she looks and all the congratulations she is getting, they’d be a little less inclined to think getting pregnant would make them popular or cool.
June 20th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Why provide them with day-care? that seems to be helping them. They need to realize parent-hood is a strugle!
June 20th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
I understand things happen and protection doesn’t always work, and I think JL looks cute and good for her for trying to raise her baby. That being said, I’m 22 and in NO way, shape, or form do I want a baby right now, and I’ve been married for 2 years already. Make them start paying for their own phones, cars, etc (I had to) and they’ll start realizing nothing is cheap, having bills is hard enough to pay, having to pay for a baby on top of that, yea, the bills turn me off from wanting a baby right now.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Thats lame that they are blaming Juno! I thought it was a good movie to show that teen motherhood is NOT the best way to go… And Knocked Up, hello… Career woman! Its just stupid girls who, more than likely, grew up in homes that lacked a healthy environment, so are looking for a poor substitute for their own bad upbringing. Its SO SAD! Here’s to hoping that some of them get smart and try to follow the example in Juno of giving it up and getting on with their lives, and being kids until they are READY.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
I live here in MA and this has been all over the news in the past few days. I am a 26 year old single mother to a beautiful 2 year old girl. Even though I had her at the age of 23, I still feel like I lost (and am still losing) out on many of my reckless “young” years. I was shocked to read these stories and see this on the news – who knew this would happen in our state???? I am willing to bet there are plenty more of these pacts happening across America. Kudos to the school administration for figuring this out and making it so public. Maybe some other kids out there will learn from THIS lesson rather than the JL Spears-type lessons. I don’t agree with the school providing a childcare center, but I also have to commend them for being so forward thinking in 2008 when the reality is, there are single unwed teenage mothers. It’s really sad that the younger teens made this pact…. it makes me want to lock my daughter up and not let her out until she’s 21!!! (Kidding.)
June 20th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Everyone is focusing on the stupid girls rather that the tragedy unfolding for the children coming into this world. What about them. Don’t they deserve better than this??
Do these girls really want the responsibility for the welfare and well-being of these babies. What a tragedy .What do you say to your child when he or she asks about their father and you have to tell him it was a 24 year old homeless man whom you do not even know.What a buch of selfish girls.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I’d slap those girls silly. No kid deserves such selfish mothers (moms to be). It’s not fair to the kids. Children deserve to be brought into this world with someone that has some brains, directions, and goals in life. Stupid Girls! Those babies deserves better than some dumb ass whore to be their mother.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
And I don’t understand how people can blame movies, and this site. If everybody jump off the cliff, do you go ahead and jump too? What about personal accountability and the girls’ parents? It’s like blaming a girl for getting raped because she wore a short skirt. Pleassee.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
These girls should be slapped.
Their parents should be slapped harder.
June 20th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
This is insane!!!
But I do have to thank you for sharing this, Trent. I hadn’t heard about it until now.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
gah, these girls make actual teen parents look even worse. Its great that their school has a daycare and provides it for them, but the fact is these girls ruin it for everyone else because now people are going to say that the school providing daycare is encouraging teens to have kids. >.>
love your posts no matter what though Trent. Btw my sons name is trent :]
June 20th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
This is pure insane!!!!! What are these girls thinking?
OH and 123 if you think this site is such trash then why are you on it fuck head?
June 20th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
sex ed. is not the problem how can you stop kids who want to have a baby who knowly did everthing to make sure it happen JL’s baby was unplanned i can understand that these thing happen my mom got pregnant when she was 15 with my brother but these stupid little kids have no idea how hard taking care of a baby is i took care of my 16 month year old nephew for a month when i was 12 and brother was in the hospital what a wake call that hellish nightmare i’m 19 and still a virgin cause i don’t want kids anytime soon maybe never and condoms are only 97% effective and you can still get pregnant on the pill
June 20th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I think this website (and others for that matter) are def NOT responsible for “glorifying” teen pregnancy. When JL got pregnant there was so much speculation about her losing her show. Her mothers book was put on hold. It was obvious by the way that they handled it that they were embarassed and knew it would blow up on them. That’s the reality of it. I also don’t think the school is to blame for offering day care. That is along the same lines of thinking as giving out condoms encourages sex. Those girls need education and they need counseling for their low self esteem*
June 20th, 2008 at 9:55 pm
I started to read the comments to listen to what I thought would be caring or even insightful words.
I get not even two comments in where i see someone calling them idiots.
Its not even those 17 girls. This type of thing has happened ever since i started high school. In my school there were best friends who happened to end up pregnant. Every where you turn as a teen you see divorce if its not your parents its your best friends’. The girls just want someone to love them. To them, as a parent, the baby has to love them. They have someone to love also.
I am not saying that its right or they are even ready for that kind of responsibility but you can’t belittle them for believing that it would solve their problem. Yes they might need counseling, but its their life.
June 20th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
the lack of proper sex education in this country is completely ridiculous. not only are they too young to be pregnant, they’ve completely made themselves vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted diseases. i highly doubt STDs crossed any of these girls’ minds, particularly the one who had sex with the homeless man. it horrifies me to think of what diseases he may have. and with that many desperate teenagers having that much unprotected sex, it only takes one kid with one disease to spread it many others.
i think for many kids, things they observe in the media is their ONLY form of sex education. movies are fantasy, and the lives of celebrities are often so far from our own that they too can be characterized as fantasy. most of us are able to distinguish celebrity fantasy from the reality of ordinary life (with bills to pay and babies to feed). i think for these girls their narrow understanding of pregnancy stops short of actually giving birth, which is then followed by a lifetime of responsibility. we cannot expect these girls to have any sort of emotional maturity and foresight, and it would be naive for US to believe that they aren’t beginning to experiment in more “mature” activities, including sex. it is OUR responsibility to educate them with the tools they need to make not only make wiser choices, but to protect their emotional and physical health (and possibly the health of their unborn children).
June 21st, 2008 at 1:15 am
It is not up to the schools to educate young people about sex. It is up to the parents. I asked my Mum when I was about 10. She sat me down with all of her nursing books and explained everything to me. These kids do not have a clue what they are in for. I read this story and was horrified at how casual they feel about what they are doing. I feel bad for the young ladies and more so for the children they are bringing into the world.
PS: I won second place in 6th grade for a report about a Human Sexuality thesis I wrote for the PTA award. Guess I was a bit ahead of the times. That was back in the early Seventies. Back in the times when your parents had to sign off for you to take the course. Thanks to my Mum. A great lady.
PPS: Trent, I would love to meet you the next time I go to LA.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:53 am
Where were these girls parents when this was going on? To simply blame this on a movie like Juno (which actually had a very good message) is asine! Our country must have sex-ed to educate these girls. Obviously their parents aren’t around enough if they feel the need to have babies to make them feel loved unconditionally.
I also feel this country has so many so double standards about this. How many celebs have had kids in the past year without benefit of marriage yet we celebrate and plaster their pictures all over the internet and magazine covers. What message does that send to kids? Lets see: Halle Berry, Angelina Jolie, Nicole Richie come to mind but there are many more.
Parents, sit down with you children and set good examples for them. Quit blaming everyone else and do your job right.
June 21st, 2008 at 8:50 am
This story makes me sick. When I was in highschool it was NOT cool to get pregnant. As for the comment left by 123 – get a life loser. If you don’t like what Trent has to say on HIS OWN site, then don’t come here.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:41 am
Unfortunately, I have heard about this story, because I live in Gloucester. While I am out of high school, and attended a different high school, this story has been going on for a while, and has caused a lot of discourse in our community. It is totally inappropriate for these girls to be so young, and having children, and making the plans to become pregnant at such a young age. This story was causing huge problems before the “pact” came out into the open, because there are usually only four pregnancies each year at the high school, which is still a lot in my opinion, considering it is a small community. Lax sex ed curriculum, the refusal of the school board to allow the distribution of contraceptives, and providing a day care for the teen parents are all parts of the problem. Another part of the problem is the fact that many of the parents may not be supervising their children, and I know many grandmothers, that raise these babies as if they are their own, and are excited when they find out their daughters are pregnant. There is no one reason this happened, and the media can’t be blamed. If the teenagers made this pact, influenced by celebrities and movies, they have bigger problems with their perceptions of reality.
I am still amazed this story has made national headlines, and that it showed up on Trent’s blog.
June 21st, 2008 at 10:38 am
those poor babies.
June 21st, 2008 at 12:09 pm
hey at least the bum, got laid.
June 21st, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I have to say that I disagree with what a lot of commentors are saying about daycare in the school. This is not an unusual thing, and is very beneficial to teen moms AND their children. These at-school daycares were in large part put in place in the early 90s when teen pregnancy was at an alltime high. My sister had her daughter at the beginning of her Junior year, when she had just turned 17. Because of the daycare on campus, she was able to graduate from high school. She also had to work in the day care and take parenting classes. I don’t know if the school in the article is the same, but every school with a daycare I’ve had first hand knowledge of (and A LOT more than you know of exist) follow the same guidelines.
Should teens be getting pregnant, especially on purpose? NO! But do you seriously think that not having a daycare in the school would make them rethink their choice? That’s just like the parents that argue sex ed should be abstinence-only based, and that handing out condoms is what makes kids have sex…as if they wouldn’t do it if they just didn’t have the darn free condoms. Daycares were prevented to help deal with an already existing epidemic and to give the BABIES the best start possible by socializing them and giving teen parents the parenting lessons most of them really need.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:55 pm
123 SUCKS…. You only wish you were as hot as Trent!!!!!! HATER…
June 21st, 2008 at 10:07 pm
123.. why do you have so much hate? Man, relax…
June 22nd, 2008 at 4:08 am
Sex ed is only about the prevention of pregnancy, not about the challenge of raising a child. I read about an experiment where they placed high-risk kids (I am assuming this assesment was based on class and geography) into a program to expose them to babies with colic and it decreased their rate of teen pregnancy. I am a mother and I love my kid so much I feel like my heart is going to explode sometimes. But young children are inherently selfish (they are too young understand how their behavior affects others) and will NOT provide unconditional love.
It’s one thing to see a young girl with her cute little baby dressed up like an adorable doll and want one. It’s another thing to wake up several times during the night to feed and change him, bath him, clean up when he pukes, pees and poops on himself and probably you, bounce him for hours while he screams at the top of his lungs. I think kids should learn WHY they should prevent prgnancy.
Am I the only on that suspects a self esteem issue? I understand the need for unconditional love and, unfortunately, sometimes the only person who loves you unconditionally is yourself. I am not one to judge who has children and if they are married or how old they are, but I am certian that these girls are missing out on life experience that would make them better parents when they are older. And that the teen years they are loosing to parenthood is to the detriment of both them and their children. So sad.
June 22nd, 2008 at 10:51 am
Why has no one mentioned the cost of raising children. How can a 16 year old support a baby? She can’t – her parents will have to. And what about the other fathers? These girls are completely selfish – their immature decision has impacted so many people’s lives. These girls will end up on welfare or woking for mcdonalds b/c none of them have college educations yet unless they’re lucky enough to have wealthy parents who will raise their babies. This is such a shame. Yes, young girls sometimes get pregnant, my mistake – but this was purposely without thought to what happens after the baby shower. I guess there’s a reason why we can’t vote till we’re 18 or drink till 21 – our youth today can’t be trusted.
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:08 am
Well put Trent.