by Hellen Wyeth

Created on: October 28, 2008

Early in life you aren't given very many choices. As a child, your parental figures make them for you, hoping to instill right from wrong. Some children don't have model parents and depend ultimately on what their society teaches them. Young in life, some children are abused physically, verbally and/or sexually. Reasons behind wild teen girls and dangerous lifestyle patterns can be many.

The drinking, the drugs and the multiple partners is the easy way out of a temporary problem with long term consequences. Your depressed and angry. No one understands except you and your friends with a bottle of liquor, and a bag of weed. You know what is best because only you know you and what your going through. Besides, what have you got to lose?

A major problem with teens, is they don't have a clue what their resources are. Usually by the time someone realizes there's a problem, it's gotten way out of control for the teen. They get lost in the underbelly of their society, making it harder for the teen to turn it around quickly. Established friendships with bad influences are tough to break and won't happen easily.

Since the 60's, teen suicide rates have tripled. Every year, 1 in 4 teenagers contracts an STD. Teen pregnancies have only dropped 72 out of every 1,000 females. This includes births, abortions and miscarriages.

High schools now provide daycare for teens still wanting to come back and graduate after giving birth. Police officers are designated to specific school districts to make their presence known. D.A.R.E. has become a joke if it even exists at their schools. Dangerous behavior is becoming more acceptable because now it is expected from teens.

Instead of only giving these girls ways to cope with the out comes of their poor choices, they need positive influences in the early teen years. A good role model can go a long way, especially if they don't have one at all to begin with. Even though they are old enough to take care of themselves while mom and dad are gone, doesn't mean they are old enough to handle the pressures of society and potential hazardous outcomes on their own.

We can't protect anyone from everything, nor is it our responsibility. It is our responsibility as parental figures, teachers, counselors, and community members to promote education. The goal here is to reach these girls before the dangerous lifestyle patterns become a dangerous lifestyle period.

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