Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, March 10, 1992                   TAG: 9203100397
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TURNING POINT

Teen pregnancy is a problem that should be dealt with before a person becomes a teen. The idea of safe sex needs to be introduced to a young person's mind by the fourth grade. This is an ideal grade because it's at this age that a lot of wondering and experimenting begins. Education may not solve the teen-pregnancy problem, but it would certainly prepare a person to take the subject seriously. This preparation needs to be done in the early years, before intimacy occurs.

I can not imagine what I would do if I had caused a girl's unplanned pregnancy. It would be hard for me to live with the thought that I was responsible for the creation of a child, so early in my own life. When I see young pregnant girls in my school, I feel sorry for them. They are going to miss out on so much of their lives that will be taken up in the care of a baby. I respect teen mothers, because I don't think I could handle the responsibility that they do.

It is sad to think of the birth of a child as an accident or a mistake. This mistake will become a huge turning point in two "normal" lives. If a teen-age girl decides to raise the child, I also have sympathy for the child. Often, he or she will be brought up in a world of anger, resentment and loneliness. Sometimes the child will suffer physical and emotional abuse that could even lead to murder or suicide. Two children having a child, if they marry or don't, will have many pressures and struggles between them.

Mental awareness should start early. Being aware of the many problems facing a teen mother and unwanted children may cause young people to think before acting on impulse. BRIAN SIZEMORE PARRY McCLUER HIGH SCHOOL BUENA VISTA