And it’s not the birth control they’re on either!
An annual report known as America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2011, which is a compilation of statistics on children from numerous organizations, has found that teen birth rates have declined, but teen drug has increased.
For the second consecutive year in the United States, the adolescent birth rate dropped from 21.7 per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 17 (2008) to 20.1 per 1,000 (2009, preliminary data).
Yayyy!!!
Unfortunately, the report also found that eight-graders using illicit drugs in the past 30 days jumped from 8% in 2009 to 10% in 2010!
Boooo!!!
Eighth grade?! We didn’t even know what drugs were when we were that young.
Okay, we did. But we knew not to use them!
Other increases in sad statistics included more children were likely to live in poverty and fewer children were likely to live with at least one parent working full time, year round.
We’re disturbed to here such young children are using drugs, but we’re happy to hear that efforts across the country to lower teenage pregnancies are paying off!
[Image via AP Images.]
