Mum, dad and new baby—one, not-so-big, happy family. But what if mum is studying year 12, dad is an apprentice and baby is sleeping in grandma’s spare room? While most teenagers are still having their beds made, lunches packed and engaging in pointless, late-night gossip sessions on MSN, the idea of being responsible for another life seems completely out of the question. But for some sexually active teens, parenthood arises far earlier than expected.
In the last few decades, the number of births to teenage parents has declined significantly. According to Family Planning Queensland, in 1971, the average Australian birth rate of mothers aged 15–19 was 55.5 per 1000. This dropped to 16.3 per 1000 in 2004. Because the overall numbers of teen parents are dropping, it is increasingly shocking and ‘socially unacceptable’ for a teenager to fall pregnant.
Many people believe that young parents will be more likely to have poorer living and health standards than older parents, and act abusively toward their children. The depressing fact is that, according to Australian statistics, this is predominately true.
But rather than simply speculating these trends in teen parenting, we should be asking what causes these trends to be the reality. What is the government doing to improve the circumstances of teenage parents?
The large decrease of births to younger people is related to the increase in the availability of contraception in Australia and the introduction of sexual education into schools. Although this is great news for Australia’s teens, teen pregnancy is still occurring. According to Anne Mitchell, an adolescent health expert at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, there are holes in sexual education standards because subjects covered are ultimately decided by individual schools. Many teenagers are missing out on crucial sexual education information, particularly about the connection between drug and alcohol use (for example, binge drinking) and pregnancy.
Most teenagers don’t make the conscious choice to become pregnant—but rather than supporting these young women, we scrutinise them. Think about the number of times you heard high school gossip about a pregnant peer.
Teenage pregnancy often results in social and family exclusion. According to Women’s Health Queensland, it’s vital that pregnant or parenting teens have the support of their loved ones. Parents usually have set expectations of their teenage children, and becoming a grandparent while raising their own children can come as quite a shock.
Melissa, a 24-year-old mother of two, fell pregnant when she was 16 and was left with little support from her father. ‘At first I hoped to continue to live at home and complete school…although my family situation was less than ideal, I never imagined that my father would react the way he did, so I was forced to leave home and start working fulltime,’ she said.
In the absence of family support, teen mothers can become overly dependant on their partners. The stress of parenting can cause young women to become stuck in abusive relationships, unable to live independently because of financial or emotional insecurity.
Teen parents find further struggle in continuing their education. Some high schools, like Plumpton High in NSW, openly support a positive attitude toward pregnant and mothering students with their parenting program. However the stress of studying and parenthood can be too hard to handle. Being forced to leave school can severely damage a young person’s self-confidence.
Melissa, who was forced to leave school, is now completing a Bachelor of Arts and Education, full time at university after completing a Year 11/12 tertiary preparation course at TAFE. She is doing this as a single parent, raising her two children, who are now seven and three years old. But things could have turned out differently.
‘For a long time I was the stereotypical young parent living with violence, alcoholism and financial hardship. Though my choices have led to me taking a positive road in my life, things could have easily been different,’ she said.
The financial support from the Australian government for teen parents often doesn’t provide young parents with adequate support to raise their child and live life comfortably. On birth of a child, all parents are eligible to the Baby Bonus—a lump sum of $4258.00 to help with the initial costs.
In 2007 Mal Brough, former minister for family, community services and Indigenous affairs, limited the Baby Bonus to instalments over a six month period to parents under the age of 18. This was to reduce irresponsible use of the money and ensure it was spent to benefit the child. Parents are also eligible to various Centrelink payments including the Parenting Payment (ranging from $394 - $546 per fortnight).
There are also new plans from the Rudd government to replace the Baby Bonus with vouchers for prams, cots, and other items for the child, for parents who have alcohol, drug or gambling problems.
However, the federal government has no other major initiatives in place to improve the situation of teenage parents. In order to improve their the mental and physical well-being, the government must introduce programs to support teenage parents in education and the workforce.
Melissa says, ‘It saddens me that the current societal stereotypes of younger parents are mostly very accurate, and many children of young parents will suffer emotional neglect, financial hardship and are at greater risk of becoming young parents themselves’.
Societal discrimination can be limited through changing the reality of the teenage parent situation. By helping mum finish year 12, dad complete his apprentice and helping baby move into her very own nursery, discrimination of teenage parents can be reduced. There shouldn’t be a bias on any family, no matter how unconventional.
How do I know this?
ABC.net, Plumpton High Babies,
http://www.abc.net.au/plumpton/stories/s791577.htm
Centrelink, Customer Services online, Payments to help you raise children, Payments Information,
http://myaccount.centrelink.gov.au/wps/portal/pay_3_
to_help_raise_children?initURL=true
Family Planning Queensland, Teenage Pregnancy Indicators— Live births and abortions,
http://www.fpq.com.au/factsheets_brochures/student_info/
Teen_pregnancy_indicator.pdf
Former Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, Changes to the Baby Bonus,
http://www.facsia.gov.au/internet/Minister3.nsf/content/
baby_bonus_12nov06.htm
News.com.au, Teen pregnancy ‘our greatest danger’,
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23374229-2,00.html
Teen Family Centre,
http://www.teenfamilycentre.org.au/home.html
Theage.com.au, Think sex,
http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/think-sex/2006/05/28/1148754861223.html?page=2
The Courier Mail, Rudd cracks down on bad parents,
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23400003-953,00.html
Women’s Health Queensland Wide, Student fact sheets, Teenage pregnancy,
http://www.womhealth.org.au/studentfactsheets/
teenagepregnancy.htm
