Teenage dads

Description

When debating the issue of how to reduce the high levels of teenage pregnancy in Britain the traditional focus has always been on young women. While much has been done in recent years in schools to make sure that teenage mothers get the right support at the earliest opportunity, little has been done to tackle the issue of teenage fathers. This may be put down to the fact that school aged fathers are almost invisible as a group, unlike their female counterparts, but the fact remains that we don't even know how many teenage fathers there are in this country. Society often regards teenage fathers as feckless individuals who get the girl pregnant and then leave them literally holding the baby. Yet all the evidence shows that when young fathers are offered reliable and sympathetic support, the impact on them, their children and their families can be profound. We met three young fathers in Sunderland to find out about their lives. Who are these invisible young men?

Runtime

19 min

Series

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

2008

Database

Alexander Street

Direct Link