Teenage Mums rant

OT, but the British 'Wife Swap' was one of my favourite shows when it aired here. Its a real eye opener to see how different families in another country function (or not) I loved the US version also.
Some of the families in those shows make my little disfunctional brood look well adjusted.

Lateralus wrote:


P.S. My baby Sara, i will say, is the happiest accident i've ever had happen to me.

She is absolutely lovely! Bless her sweet smile and how lucky to have such "good" and caring parents.

Beautiful girl LAterlus and i definitely agree. I think part of the cause of teen pregnancy is the stigma attached to sex. i know here in texas sex education in public schools is all about abstinence. pfff! yeah right! we have hormones folks! teenage sex will happen, so lets teach kids to be responsible and quit hoping that sex just wont happen. If you tell kids DONT HAVE SEX DONT HAVE SEX, you are making it just that more interesting for them.

When i found out that my sister in law was having sex - she came to me about it and shes 18 by the way. I asked her how many partners she'd had, if she used protection and all that mess. But most importantly i talked to her about responsibility. I told her to make sure her relationship didnt turn into something purely physical. If her boyfriend, who she truly loves she says, only wants to have sex then she needs to think the relationship through.

I couldve easily gone the abstinence way and said "WELL DONT GET PREGNANT!!" Thats the way Texans usually go.

Well this topic definaltely spawned a lot of responces. Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Your welcome HSM

Puchita, I totally agree that we need to be more pro-active and realistic when it comes to teens having "romantic relations".

I knew I had done something right when my 15 year old daughter told me she had dumped a lad she was seeing, because he was no longer a virgin and she didnt want to be under pressure to lose her own yet She knows all about contraception, STD's and the risk of pregnancy and she is very open with me about that stuff.

I remember my sex-ed at school, it gave an impression that sex was bad and to be avoided at all costs - and it wasnt even a religious school! That attitude just gives kids something else to rebel against. Much better to be open and honest about the subject so that they can talk to their parents (or teachers) about any worries they may have and get the facts.

I wish I could contribute to this but I cant really. I dont know about this stuff. Sad Face.

I remember a sex eduation class at school where we were being taught about the requirement for contraception to stop the spread of diseases. Some new person came in specifically to talk to us about this.

Always being one to spy the opportunity for weakness in a new person entering the classroom, I took the opportunity to smirk and make jokes under my breath and chuckle at every little thing that presented itself.

The sex ed teacher eventually told me that I was the type of person that would get AIDs.

Far from being insulted, I was actually rather impressed that there was this person telling me that, in their opinion, I was definitely the kind of guy that was going to get laid. Sweet!

Hahaha that was funny Angelo

AC, you really know how to crack me up, I must say... it isn't exactly funny, but the fact that your teacher said that to you is quite hillarious.

STITCH!!!! Answer me a few questions... you said that Australia's only real population growth is immigration correct? Is that why I found this program that works with the OZ gov't to allow US citizens 12 month work visas and reduced airfare to OZ and will even help them find jobs and places to live? It was all for like... 300 dollars for document processing. I have seriously thought about it because:

1) I am really starting to get sick of the gool ole' USA.
2) I can't seem to find work now that I moved out of NYC for school. I could just go to school down under.
3) The price of living and the exchange rate is still killing us.
4) I can't take much more of US culture. Like I have said before, I am born and raised in the US, but I don't see myself staying here much longer.

For those of you who are from the US, no, I'm not an anarchist, but I really don't want to stick around much longer. I have traveled a lot and I think, because of my mindset and who I am, I can't stick in one place for too long because I find fault in it and when I can't change that fault myself, I have to jet....

Wow, that says a lot about my personality, now doesn't it? Also, why is it so incredibly hard to get visas and citizenship in Europe, especially the UK?!

Lastly, Jax, you said that you and your husband are thinking about moving to Dubai... I've thought about that too and have actually started to learn Arabic (because I think everyone in the US should learn either Arabic, Chinese or Japanese because soon enough they will be running a lot of the business in the US). How much research have you done regarding moving there?

That is my form of a rant, I ask a ton of questions.

JW

A reply a few weeks late in coming.

In Australia we have many skilled worker schemes that provide working visas for periods of between 0ne to four years. During which time many find their one true love and end up staying here!

Australia is geopgraphically a very pretty place. We have been a country for 108 years, prior to this we were just colonies.When all the colonies decided to join together we became a country BUT because of the geographical distances between capital cities we actually live our lives as if we were still a collection of colonies.

Most of our country is uninhabited. Despite the vast size of the continent, the majority of Australians live on the coast and in major cities. Around 75 per cent of Australia’s population lives in urban areas.

The population is just over 21.3 million, with approximately 60% of the population concentrated in and around the mainland state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide. Remembering that these areas combined are less than 1% of the country.

By far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid lands commonly known as the outback. Australia is the flattest continent, with the oldest and least fertile soils, and is the driest inhabited continent.

Australia is slightly smaller than the US but imagine the US have only five major cities. each spaced about a thousand miles apart. We are a country that heavily relies on air transport to travel to another city.

Water is a big problem for us. According to W Kendrew's book Climate of the Continents:

"The possibilities of the future development of Australia, which is the most arid of continents, depend largely on the vital question of rainfall... Australia is in one of the driest belts of the earth.... It thus resembles North Africa... The continent has its greatest length from east to west, as if to ensure that the maximum possible area should be subject to the most arid conditions."

Where I live Melbourne a colony that was founded in 1835 by Batman. Batman arrived here by boat and bought the land that Melbourne is on from the local indigenous people for a few blankets, mirrors and other trinkets. Batman was not a nice guy, I live a stone's throw away from Batman' Hill. Although over the years we have leveled the hill so it is flat.

Our city is still in the developing stage, our city is full of cranes and construction sites. The whole area of downtown is being built as we speak, the area called Docklands. A massive urban development in the CBD.

Us Melbournians have a good life. SO JW I have one question for you and that is "where the bloody hell are you?"

JW - another late reply....sorry

We have another year before IVF, and if it doesnt work will look at moving to Dubai asap, and if it does...well maybe in a few years, but IVF and having a baby is our main priority

But OMG I so want to move to OZ!! Unfortunately our work skills are experience gained and not on paper as qualifications, plus we have no financial assets past the mortgage on our house, so OZ doesnt want us It would be easier to re-locate to Dubai as my other half has family there who can help us out while we find our feet etc. But given the choice.....it would definitely be Oz

The only thing that I know for sure, is that I do not want to grow old in this country. I may come back here in my twilight years, retire in Cornwall perhaps, but I want to get there elsewhere.

Stitch: I think that Oz is perfect with just the amount of rainfall it gets. Haha. I pretty much figured most of what you said due to the land and the situation that Austraila is in. However, I don't give a crap. Like I said before, when I went to Sydney and Melbourne I felt like I was at home without actually being at home.

So weird, Stitch, so weird that you brought up the idea of falling in love when in Australia... I suppose you guys have the same marriage laws that if I were to marry someone in Aussi, I could stay there as a citizen right? Well, oddly enough, before I read this... last night I had a dream that I married someone so they could have citizenship. Hm, maybe this is the answer to all my problems, perhaps?!

Jax: Dubai would be a sweet place to live, however, it is still in the developmental stages and maybe a few years wait wouldn't be a bad thing. I really hope everything goes well with your IVF and you have a beautiful baby (probably more than one with the way IVF goes) and you find the perfect place to raise him/her/them. I think you should reconsider Oz because well, we could be neighbors and I could teach your kids how to be casting agents, lol... or write scripts. I do make one bloody hell of a babysitter too. I love the little ones.

Yes if you marry an Aussie, or even have a de facto relationship with one, oe even develop one that is co-dependent then the Government will let you stay here as a permanent resident, citizenship is a decision that permanent residents decide for themselves.

Well, I'll be a son of a bitch... I think I found my new plan! Now, to find a woman to marry...... hey, Stitch, do the Aussies have legalized gay marriage? If so, you could be my back-up!

In terms of applying for PR, same sex relationships are treated the same as any other de facto relationship. You just have to show that you and your partner are in a long term co-dependent relationship.