I know you worry about your daughter. This can be a scary time to be an adolescent girl.
Even if your daughter is a great kid, she’s surrounded by friends and peers who may not always be the most positive influences. She’s going to meet young men whose dreamy eyes and gleaming smiles conceal less-attractive motives. And she’s probably swimming in popular culture and social media that advocate values and behaviors that trouble you deeply. But I don’t have to tell you any of that, because it’s constantly on your mind.
However, there are many more factors that promotes the girl child pregnancies, some of which are;
1- Demographic Factors
Teenage girls who resides in rural areas are twice more likely to become pregnant. On the other hand, being in school has been found to be protective against teenage pregnancy. Being young and living in rural areas may expose girls to early pregnancy due to: lack of information, peer influence and sexual abuse.
This situation could put them in a higher risk of not only becoming pregnant but contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI). However, being in school may provide periods of supervision of teenage girls by teachers as well as parents, which could reduce opportunities for sexual activity
2- Economic Deprivation
Economic deprivation is likely to influence teenage behaviours and heighten their exposure to early pregnancy.
Furthermore, there has been growing concern by scholars that physical neglect of teenage girls could foster relationships with older men which is seen as more beneficial when daily needs such as food, shelter, clothing and money are not met by parents/caregivers.
3- Psychological Factors
Adolescents are interested in exploring the world around them, in which some become sexually active. This puts them at a risk of sexually transmitted infection (STIs) and pregnancy, as some young people may lack often adequate knowledge of safe sex.
4- Illiteracy and Hawking
These are off-shoots of poverty as poverty will make a parent to order his/her child to hawk petty goods as a means of contributing to household income and thereby ensuring that the household members have at least sufficient food to eat. In the process of hawking, teenagers may be s*xually abused or raped thereby leading to unwanted pregnancies.
5- Peer pressure
Peer pressure factor implies that the fact that other teenagers are engaged in s*xual activities may make a teenager to want to try same or wants to feel among her colleagues by also engaging in such activities.
My advice to Parents
I therefore recommended that all parents and other stakeholders should live up to their expectations of providing parental care and qualitative education to their children. The influence of peer pressure should also be curbed among teenagers by advising them to only keep good friends who can positively influence their life.
The government should in addition, enforce the provisions of the Child’s Rights Act on defaulters who intentionally or unintentionally violate the rights of Nigerian children through child labour, sexual abuse or rape and child neglect.