Sex at 16 is different in that if they get pregnant they are too young to raise a child. While driving does come with adult risks, as do lots of things teens do, it can be of use to a teen. Sex can't.
That's debatable too. In general I agree, but I also think that 16-17 is too young to be able to drive as well. We're talking about a 2000+ pound hunk of speeding metal, basically a torpedo under a person's control who is 'too young to raise a child'. So essentially what's being said is, they're old enough and mature enough to take a life (or lives), aka Murder, but not old enough or mature enough to create a life, assuming it does even happen. "Death = OK, life = Not OK".
Let's face it, just like adults who engage in sex for pleasure, the greater percentage of teens having sex are also not becoming pregnant from it. I can even speak for myself, I started well before 18 and have never gotten a girl knocked up, and I'd be willing to bet if a grand scale poll were taken, the large majority of people above 18 would report a similar experience.
Anyone else willing to speak up about your own personal past? Deb, did you wait until after 18 for your first sex? Did you get pregnant as a teen from it? Anyone else? Bueller? ... Bueller? ...
I do know of some people who accidentally got pregnant at 16-17 and actually turned out to be a great parent.
Anyone else willing to speak up about your own personal past? Deb, did you wait until after 18 for your first sex? Did you get pregnant as a teen from it? Anyone else? Bueller? ... Bueller? ...
Umm I don't really think my past and what age I did or did not have sex at needs to be discussed here. Oh and no teenage pregnancy, I actually waited till I was married and had my first child (which was my first pregnancy and conceived after I said the "I do") at age 24
I don't think the debate is whether kids are having sex or not its more about adults exploiting kids and where do you drawl the line, atleast that is where I see it. Mind you I didn't really have a issue with the video (as I stated before).
That's my point, at 16-17 they aren't "kids" anymore, they're "young adults". Like I mentioned, if a 16 year old commits first degree murder, the court suddenly no longer considers them a "kid", they try them as an "adult" with the full adult consequences. If the government considers them as "adults" then where's the exploitation?
And if they're doing it all anyway, is it really "exploitation", or are we just showing what's really already existing and always has? Or is this a case of "we should all just bury our heads in the sand and pretend it's not happening"? It's a pretty ridiculous concept that we're currently living by, where 16-17 year olds are banging each other all over the place, and that seems to be "ok", but if anyone 18+ acknowledges it's not that big of a deal, they get the Chris Hanson finger pointed at them.
The real problem is it's a parent's argument, like I said before, and the double-standard; one minute 16 is "just a poor widdle immature kid who has no ability to think for themselves" when it comes to anything sex related, but they do something illegal, and wham, 16 is suddenly fully responsible for any thoughts and actions they may have had leading up to the crime. 16 is 16 no matter what and it should be decided to either treat them as adults all the way across the board, or don't, none of this wishy-washy whenever it's most convenient.
Yeah I get your point. It's a very good valid point. Certainly there are some very mature teens out there. I was in some ways and definitely not in others. I mostly disagree with charging lots of kids as adults. There would have to be some pretty compelling evidence. Now, I will say that when I signed on the dotted line to join the Army I was 17. The very next year I was deemed old enough to kill people but not old enough to consume alcohol. Now, I'm straightedge as all get out but that never made sense to me.
I don't think you'll ever be able to across the board treat teens as either adults or not cause every kid is different. 18 is really arbitrary anyway. What's the difference between an 18 year old mind and a 17 1/2 year old mind? Nothing. You could push the difference up several years if you wanted. Until the kid has some life experience to make them mature they won't.
I will end with this thought. It was really weird watching her in the video cause all I can picture is Hannah Montana. I kept waiting for Jackson to come in an burp or something. In the end that's the whole point of the video. To shatter the Hannah image.
I do know of some people who accidentally got pregnant at 16-17 and actually turned out to be a great parent.
Wellington Florida
Married
If nothing else parents should use it as a chance to discuss safe sex and sexually transmitted disease. Teens are going to have sex. It's up to us to educate them to hope we don't have to end some boys life over knocking up my daughter. Uh, I mean the collective "my". Anyway....
I agree its a great way to get the conversation going about teens and sex.