Teen pregnancy a serious problem<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Marriage is a serious topic of discussion. But
\nit could also be fun, especially if it involves teenagers, as was
\ndemonstrated on Wednesday during a talk about teen marriage.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of high school students who attended the event at
\nBulungan Youth Stadium in South Jakarta, appeared intrigued when
\npsychologist Ninuk Widyantoro, the keynote speaker, started the
\nmonthly discussion by saying that dating could be useful for the
\nteenagers, particularly to develop their personality.<\/p>\n
Soon, the teens bombarded Ninuk with questions.<\/p>\n
A student complained that his parents did not allow him to
\nhave a girlfriend and asked the speaker's advice for \"healthy
\ndating\".<\/p>\n
Ninuk explained that there was a generation gap between the
\nparents and the teens. The parents, who grew up in the past era,
\nheld more conservative values compared to their children, who
\nlived in a permissive world, she said.<\/p>\n
She suggested that instead of arguing with their parents, the
\nteens should be able to prove that courting does not negatively
\naffect their study.<\/p>\n
About \"healthy dating,\" she said: \"If your date becomes
\npossessive and asks for sex, that is not healthy dating.\"<\/p>\n
Unhealthy dating, she said, could result in teen pregnancies,
\nwhich mostly ended up in teen marriage.<\/p>\n
She told the discussion, held by the Indonesian AIDS
\nFoundation, that teen marriage is actually not always the best
\nsolution to the problem.<\/p>\n
\"It is not easy to build a family. You should be able to make
\nsome mature, unselfish decisions,\" she said.<\/p>\n
When a student asked Ninuk about the ideal prerequisites for
\nmarriage, she replied that psychologically, there was no such
\nideal since it depended on the couple themselves.<\/p>\n
Teen marriage is not a problem if the couple are ready for it.
\nBut it could become risky if the girl gets pregnant since the
\ngirl's reproduction organs are still developing at that age.<\/p>\n
\"It could endanger her life,\" Ninuk remarked.<\/p>\n
She cited without elaborating that the maternity death rate in
\nIndonesia is one of the highest in Asia.<\/p>\n
\"The government is not responsive to the problem,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She had written two books about sex for teenagers as requested
\nby the National Family Planning Board but they had not been
\npublished as they were considered \"vulgar.\"<\/p>\n
Ninuk said that most teen pregnancies were caused by ignorance
\nof the teens about sex.<\/p>\n
\"Information about sex is essential for them in this
\npermissive world. The government, NGOs and society should support
\nthem with appropriate information about sex,\" she noted.<\/p>\n
She called on the government to develop some crisis centers to
\ngive guidance to teens who are pregnant.<\/p>\n
She suggested that the centers should have psychologists and
\ndoctors to support them. If the girls chose to have an abortion,
\nthis should be accommodated, considering the fact that illegal
\nabortion is often not conducted properly endangering the lives of
\nboth the mother and baby. (04)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/teen-pregnancy-a-serious-problem-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}