Blog for Youth

A new study has revealed that teenage fatherhood results in a decrease in years of schooling.

This study from Economic Inquiry evaluated the negative educational and economic outcomes of teenage fatherhood, a topic far less researched than teenage motherhood.

From in.news.yahoo.com:

Authors utilized the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a school-based, nationally representative longitudinal study of 7th to 12th graders in the United States beginning in 1994-1995. Their dataset included 362 men younger than 18 years and nine months. The authors compared young men whose partners experienced a pregnancy but suffered a miscarriage, with those whose partners gave birth.

The authors found that while only 64 percent of the study participants received a high school diploma and 16 percent received a general Educational Development (GED), the experience of teenage fatherhood dramatically shifted these outcomes by reducing the chances of graduating high school by fifteen percentage points and increasing the chances of receiving a GED by eleven percentage points.

“Educational interventions may need to target new teenage fathers in order to increase their chances of completing their high school diplomas,” according to co-authors Jason Fletcher and Barbara Wolfe.

An expert has claimed that parents who shun traditional fairy tales in favour of ‘more politically correct’ modern books are missing vital chances to teach their children a moral code of life.

More and more parents have been avoiding traditional fairy tales such as ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves‘.

From Dailymail.co.uk:

Sally Goddard Blythe said that the traditional tales show children how good can triumph over bad and that they can foster kindness and generosity.

Mrs Goddard Blythe argues in her book, The Genius of Natural Childhood, that the seven dwarves show children the physical diversity of life.

‘When you don’t give children these stereotypes, you don’t give them a moral code on which to develop their own lives.

‘Fairy tales help to teach children an understanding of right and wrong, not through direct teaching, but through implication.

‘Far from demonising the dwarves, the story of Snow White shows that underlying the physical diversity there can be greate kindness and generosity than is found in the stereotypes of beauty and wealth so lauded by celebrity-worshipping cultures.’

Traditional stories passed down through generations are vital to a child’s development, according to the leading child development expert.

A recently concluded study has suggested that the concept of monogamy in young married couples is a complicated issue for many.

Live Science quoted Jocelyn Warren of Oregon State University as saying, “Couples have a hard time talking about these sorts of issues, and I would imagine for young people it’s even more difficult.”

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From in.news.yahoo.com:

“Monogamy comes up quite a bit as a way to protect against sexually transmitted diseases. But you can see that agreement on whether one is monogamous or not is fraught with issues.”

The study of 434 married and unmarried couples ages 18-25 revealed that about 40 percent of young couples had differing opinions about how exclusive their relationship was, and even among those who were on the same page, about 30 percent reported having cheated.

The only indicator of exclusivity was the emotional commitment the partners reported investing in the relationship, assessed using a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the highest.

Researcher Marie Harvey said that young couples in a monogamous relationship such as a marriage should be encouraged to have protected sex.

The study will be published in an issue of the Journal of Sex Research.

Day by day in this very increasing modern world new studies are revealed and the statistics are being revised. Experts now say that increased sex education and callous attitude of parents has eventually helped in bringing down the average of losing virginity among the youth at early age. There are many reasons for it such as declining puberty age i.e. for girls it is 9-10 years and for boys 10-11 years.

Television, magazines and internet, social networking sites further creates curiosity among the teenagers and make them feel like to experience the concept he/she has gathered about the past years about sex. The parents’ uninterested attitude forces a child to find support and look for alternatives such as sex for stress. Attraction among the opposite sex is natural, but nowadays teenagers take all in the stride of fun. It is also seen that that intake of alcohol and peer pressure group is another major reason in teenagers which lowers down the average of losing virginity to 17 years.

From timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Studies have revealed that children, these days, are losing their virginity at a very young age. Experts say that with the average age of puberty going down to 9-10 years for girls and 10-11 years for boys, the average age for losing virginity too is going down. And the deadly paring with this is — awareness about sex is more these days and information (not always from the right sources) is freely available. Television, movies and most prominently the Internet is loaded with extremely easily accessible information and graphic details. This, most of the time, helps to entice the youngsters to experiment, who already have hormones raging through them.

To tackle with all the complications, lower maturity level of children and its consequences should be dealt by regular counseling actions along with parents. The teenagers should be taken seriously and must be made aware of the good and the bad consequences. Children need to know that sex is just not a physical attribute but a gift in a relationship which should be taken seriously and mere not a fun.

Also, teenagers need to understand that saying no to losing virginity at young age is not a sin. It must be taken seriously and one should know the limits.

If it is time for you to end your love relationship and you are not sure how to reveal the fact before your partner, here are some tips for avoiding an ugly scene.

It is important for us to realize that not every relationship in this world last a lifetime and it is better to move away before things start getting ugly.

From Timesofindia.indiatimes.com:

Don’t break up at a public place:

While you may have gotten used to the idea of breaking up your girlfriend/boyfriend may need sometime to get used to the idea. So ensure that there’s some privacy when you are breaking up. You wouldn’t want to be a part of an ugly scene or fight and be a spectacle for those at the joint.

Don’t get into it at your usual hang out:

Break-ups can be messy, so don’t opt for a place that you are likely to frequent. In case you don’t part of absolutely amicable terms at least people who know you won’t be a witness to any kinds of fight.

Don’t be too casual:

Don’t break up while you are doing some mundane task like picking up groceries or chomping on a huge burger. Give your relationship and your partner some respect and plan how you want to go ahead with it.

Breaking up over sms or email:

While this may work for some, it may prove to be hara-kiri for others. Those who cannot express themselves may find the options of writing an email or a letter very appealing and it’s not a bad option considering it allows you to elaborate your feelings. Also, it’s prefect for those who prefer to avoid confrontation. Breaking up over SMS, however, can be highly insensitive. After all 160 characters can’t be enough to end a relationship. However, breaking up over SMS too has its share of fans and has worked for many people.

In all, breaking up can be made graciously so that a beautiful relationship does not come to end with an ugly scene.

If relationships of your life come like the greeting cool air and left before you start understanding their presence to create a never-filing wound, it is time for you to redefine your approach to life and move on.

Each one of us need find ourselves occupied with relationships. While a good and satisfying relationship is said to be one where you just give and expect nothing, it is time that this approach be changed as ethics and morality are not the same today like what they were when this statement was first issued.

It is important for you to understand and remember that a relationship can be satisfying only when both the involved parties are happy. Remember, one of them is YOU and your happiness and desires are as important as that of the other one. Moreover, one cannot make others happy when he is not happy himself.

The best way out:

There is nothing wrong while entering into a relationship if you know the future and purpose. This means that if it is a life-long stand, both of you need to understand that “space” is something that needs to be respected by both, for both. You may not like her friends, spending habits, and other things but you need to accept it all (though you must make an effort to change them) and if you cannot, life can be really miserable. It is very important for both of you to find out the reason behind acts of the other person so that there is no space for conflict. Last but not the least life can be a happy bed of roses but only if the other half is not selected in a hurry. Disagreements may come and go, but happy compromises are something you need to be ready for if you want to lead a happy, satisfying, and peaceful life. If the relationship is just a one-night stand, you should not waste your precious thoughts.

But if you think that your special one is no more special, have a word to sort out the things, take some time out. If things still do not work out, move on for your happiness! If relationships are changing with time, they are not worth it!

In the last few years, gadgets and things such as televisions, DVDs, gaming consoles, free website content (scrupulous), and mobile phones have been used for illegal purposes. While one-night stands are common and young minds getting hurt emotionally, mentally, and physically, things are not going any good. Blame it on the pressure of peers or the desire to replicate idols such as celebrities and sportsmen, the young minds of today are forcing themselves into deep well, without even realizing the same. The pressure to fare well in competitive exams, expectations of parents and society, and relationships of youth are so much for a modern-day child and teenager that things are bound to go bad unless right advice is not that far.

It is important for the youth to understand and remember that things in life need to be prioritized. While relationships can take a backseat unless one is mature enough to understand the complexities of relationships, demanding relationships can only lead to the wrong ways. At a mind when young minds must concentrate on their studies and grooming themselves to be better citizens and people, too much of time is devoted to make sure that feelings are not hurt that too of and for a person who is himself or herself not sure of the feelings or future of the relationship.

The point to be conveyed is that demanding relationships should not be allowed to creep in as they can only give pain and discomfort. The young minds need to take a big step, a big step towards self-grooming and not moving their attention to something that is not right to ruin their future and emotional senses.

We hope that this blog for youth was able to serve its purpose.

If, both the father and his son, can act sensible and try to find out the reason behind acts done by each one of them then they can surely enjoy a peaceful and wonderful relationship.

I must highlight one fact that needs to be taken care of, by both the father and his son. I have seen many situations where the only reason behind a souring father-son relationship was the inability to express the ‘hidden’ love, care, and affection. While I have seen many sons expressing their love for mothers with affectionate hugs, acknowledgement of presence, Mother’s Day cards, and many more things, I really do not find many sons doing the same from their father.

One of the greatest reasons behind such acts is the reluctance of the father to accept the hugs, gifts, and cards, like the mother. I am sorry to say but I have to, that some fathers treat these love-expressing things as unnatural or waste of money. And, when their children do not repeat these relationship-boosting acts, fathers think that their children do not love or respect them any more.

The best way out

The best way to handle this kind of a situation would be a wholeheartedly acceptance by the father and communicating to the child that he treasures the love and affection as much as he treasures the son.

We all know that the three magical words ‘I Love You’ can cast a spell but do fathers and their sons really say these words to each other and if yes, is the communication on a regular basis? Well if that was the case, I would not have chosen to write on this topic ever.

Anyways, it is time to leave the bitterness of the past and cherish this beautiful relationship.

Blame it on the hidden feelings or an inability to express the love or generation gap, the relationship between a father and his son is ‘accused’ of serious differences most of the times.

Through this article, I would like to try my level best to find out the real roots of tensions and differences in this otherwise much-adored and beautiful relationship.

When a male child climbs to the ladder of age, the first idol before him is no one but his father. This is not because there is no one as perfect as his father but because the definition of perfectness is all about care, emotion, unexpressed love, security, and right advice at that time. And, this is all what a father means to his children. However, the definition of perfectness changes with the passing years and this is what creates all the differences.

It would not be wrong to say that mistakes are committed by both the father and his son over a period of time. They may be as small as a shout by the father when a calm advice would have done the trick and this may be as small as an outcry by the son on the non-fulfillment of his ‘unreasonable’ demands. The crux is that both of them consider themselves and their acts justified, while things may be wrong in the other one’s eyes.

Now that we have tried finding some of the differences, let us move to the second and last part of this series (in the form of next article) that will focus on how to move ahead to find solutions on how to stop these father-son duels.