General Chat

hear , hear anne xxx

i don't agree with that dan.my niece got pregnant at 18 and my sister got pregnant at 17 and they both had working parentsxxxxx(:

i wonder why people say that about teenagers getting pregnant ,, oh it is there parents fault makes me laugh xx

dan you sound like someone looking to blame anyone for your tax bill!!

pmsl anne you are so right xxx god i love you xx

My daughter became pregnant aged 17. We lived in a large detached 4 bedroom house in a "nice" area. My husband and I both worked full time. My daughter is now 23, and my grandaughter is 5 yrs old. Therefore these would be considered recent statistics. Statistics can be manipulated to say whatever you want them to say, and should be taken with a pinch of salt. Every area is different and all families are different and the way that these so called facts are portrayed makes me angry. When my daughter became pregnant, although I was concerned for her, I also thought, "There, but for the grace of God go I". I wouldn`t be without my beautiful grandaughter for the world. Frances

Frances Yes, wish people like Daniel would see the human side of statistics!!!

anne i think he has gone, along with the others who said it was none working people xx whos girls get pregnant

I think the title of the thread is a misleading. I think we can all agree that teenage (or otherwise) pregnancies happen to girls from any class with working or non-working parents. I think what you can see in Daniel's report is more to do with social deprivation. Many of these girls will have had very hard lives and been brought up deprived of material things. A baby is often seen as an escape route to something better, a chance to start again. I don't believe there are many girls who deliberately get pregnant to manipulate the benefits system. They will know first hand it's not worth it. I agree that stats can be used to be sensationalist although these figures on paper may well be true but it is too simple to blame the employment status as the cause. It's much more complicated. Saz

I'd like to point out that I have not any of my own personal comments here, so the two posts refering to tax and the other to not seeing the human side is wrong. I have refered to figures and information from the media and I cannot prove or disprove their reliabilty. I have adopted the view that they are correct. When I make a thread like this, I try and start a reasonable and intelligent debate. I make it paramount not to include any personal views as this would affect the running the thread. I would ask all to do the same as this is how perfectly sensible topics go wrong. (As we have all seen) Please stick to the facts.

Daniel I always like your threads and know you are trying to get a good strong debate going - well done you we need it instead of all this personal stuff going on on nearly all the other threads on the front page of this board. Problem with this thread is it touches on teenagers, unemployment & pregnancy - way too emotive. But it was still a good discussion. Saz

"teenagers, unemployment & pregnancy - way too emotive" Eh? It's only what I see everyday, only what's on the news every hour, only what's dicussed in Westminster every week. What on Earth can we talk about then?

Daniel, I am sure that you did not mean this thread to cause further arguments on the board. The problem is that this is an emotive subject, and as you will have seen, several of us are affected by it! I think it is possible to have a debate without it becoming a heated argument, as long as everyone considers the feelings of others. Regards, Frances

But all in one thread?

Daniel you have put on on here, as facts, items from the media? Why are you so surprised when you get people disagreeing with you?

"The new report reveals that following the launch of the national and local 'Teenage Pregnancy Strategy' in 1998, rates of pregnancy in young women have fallen in Wirral." That's what I'm stating as fact. I haven't said anything that people could agree with or disagree with. I've only posted what's been printed and talked about in my area. You can agree or disagree with that but not with me. I'm just happy with a good debate which we've had.

To quote you Daniel - "teenagers, unemployment & pregnancy - way too emotive" Eh? It's only what I see everyday, only what's on the news every hour, only what's dicussed in Westminster every week. What on Earth can we talk about then? A few suggestions - war, famine, disease, oil prices, xmas, reality tv shows, music, films, food, eating disorders, pubs, pets and worse come to worse ....there's always the weather, possibly THE most emotive subject of all? Saz

Well I chose to discuss what's currently being discussd where I live. I see no problem in that. If it's on the news, the radio and in the papers I would have expected to be allowed to talk about them.

Blimey Daniel I'm trying to be funny not sarky honest, I'm obviously a bit rubbish at it - I agree with you and you can do anything you like on here sweetheart. Saz

Dan What are your views then, if you want a good debate and everyone to state their views. Personally, I do not agree and would have an indepth look at the basis of the research,who funded it, how many participants where involved, how data was collected I would like to find out if other research disproves these findings. Believe me these type of questions matter when examining research results. My personal views are that girls get pregnant whatever their parents occupation or lack of it, perhaps the girls of professional parents terminated their pregnancies more frequently than those of unemployed parents.Did this research involve live births or just pregnancies? Regards Margaret