Teenage pregnancies, UK and Japan.

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最初の投稿者：Keaton421

Yeah, plenty. There are tons of myths and rumors, like "You can't get pregnant the first time", or "Two condoms are better than one", or "I can just pull out" (well, always worked for me )

In my junior high school year we took home this fake baby that would wake you up crying every 30 minutes or so for 2 nights. It was hell, and it made pregnancy one of the first thoughts in my mind when I slept with a girl, instead of an afterthought

Exactly, I've heard those very words come out of my students' mouths before. The 11 year old boy in UK didn't know, and neither did one of the 11 year old kids at a local school. It's usually covered up.

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最初の投稿者：Richard63

I understand that Japan has one of the lowest rates of teenage pregnancies in the world. Here in the UK it is high, and I was wondering, why this should be?
Some of the factors that could explain this, I have been trying to guess.

1. Is it looked upon as more shameful to be a young unmarried mother in Japan than in the UK?
2. Is it because of better contraception?
3. Financial reasons? In the UK, a single mother will get money given to her by the state and is given accomodation. The more children you have, the more money you get, and the more children you have, the bigger the house you will get. Does this happen in Japan?
4. General behavioural attitudes. I understand Japan has a very low crime rate compared with the UK, and there is more respect given to all sorts of aspects in life. Is this connected in any way?
5. Religion?

I hope there is someone out there that will be able to answer my question.
Thanks,
Richard.

1) Yes.
2) No, maybe more frequent use of conception.
3) Most people don't get teen pregnant to make money, but indirectly without it they might spend more money on education and some parents would change their attitude.
4) Has little to do with crime.
5) Has little to do with religion, the only factor there is in the shame.

The two key differences in teen pregnancy rates:
1) Abortion, abortion, abortion. Teen pregnancy is not going to be reported in these cases, thus statistically they never happened.
2) Segregation. Teenagers in the UK are in fact having more sex than teenagers in Japan, due to a lot more opportunity to comingle.

The second point, you've got to see the difference between both societies. The kid father in UK got the girl pregnant at a co-ed sleepover. Tell me, who let's their son sleep over with girls??? Most parents in the UK would never, so this is more an issue with the fact the UK has some very permissive parents who are exceptions in society. Sarah Palin's daughter got pregnant on one of her dates with her boyfriend. Again, most parents would murder their daughter before letting her go unchaperoned with a post-pubescent boy. Japan has the same common sense, it's just enforced more consistently and shame on the parents who don't enforce it.

Furthermore, girls and boys are segregated at the prime ages, especially after school. There's not much free time to hang around with the opposite sex, because of cram school. And many schools, particularly private ones, have strict policies that extend outside the school and are enforced in public.