TO say that the Ghanaian society is changing rapidly is to state the obvious. For, every adult Ghanaian knows that the modernisation process has caught up with the society.
Quite unlike those of yesteryears, children in the urban areas today have access to sophisticated gadgets, video games, stereos, compact discs and computers.
On the health front, a fairly good diet has contributed in no small way to the fast physical growth of young people some of whom, though very young, have the bodies of adults.
They must, as a matter of course, have to wait for a longer period before getting married. Meanwhile, these young people who are themselves children, are also having children as evidenced by the upsurge in teenage pregnancies.
It has therefore become almost fashionable these days for people to lament about the decline in the moral standard of the society. Adults wonder how future generations will fare if current trends continue.Ironically, many parents and guardians appear to be unconscious of the responsibilities which have fallen on them as a result of the declining years at their first menstruation.
Last week, the Ghana Bar Association's Committee on Women and Human Rights organised a one-day workshop on the committee's research findings on teenage motherhood and children's right's at the British Council Hall in Accra.
The researchers found, among other things, that teenage mothers lacked information about their bodies and only 10 per cent of the sample realised they were pregnant within the first eight weeks of pregnancy.Well over 25 per cent of those sampled noticed that there was something wrong after more than three months of not experiencing menstruation.
It became obvious from the findings that the girls in the sample drawn from Chorkor, James Town, Madina, Nima, Maamobi and Amasaman did not know what was happening to them.
This clearly indicates that about 25 per cent of teenagers have no information whatsoever about how their bodies function. Such an unfortunate state of affairs again brings to the fore the perennial problem of parent-child relationships.
Apparently, going by available statistics, many parents do not provide adequate care or show enough concern about the well-being of their children.
Sad to say, many young people are increasingly being left to their own devises by very busy parents who are anxious to make ends meet; parents who are caught up in the struggle for survival.
Many teenagers complain they seldom see their fathers although they all live under the same roof and mothers who are supposed to be closer to children often return home after the late hour and they are too
exhausted to be of any meaningful company to their children.
"My father is always away from the house. If it is not a conference outside the country, then he is on trek and mother is also always very tired after work" lamented a 16-year-old boy.
It is not surprising therefore that in response to a question intended to expose the reason why some girls got pregnant, the girls in the research sample said they got pregnant to punish their fathers!.
Although only one per cent of the sample was said to have given this rather surprising answer. It nevertheless points to a very serious phenomenon.
The disturbing question, according to the researchers is: why should teenage girls try to punish their fathers by deliberately becoming pregnant ?
Are fathers appearing not to be doing enough to provide their teenage daughters with their needs.
"Although 30 per cent of the sample acknowledged both parents as their source of support, only 5.2 per cent beyond this number indicated that father alone provided their needs as opposedto nearly 28 per cent of their mothers.
The researchers asked very challenging questions: "Are men no longer socialised to provide for their children ? Has fatherhood become a sexual function only ?
Other figures available collaborated the findings of the committee. The Family and Development Programme (FADEP) of the University of Ghana, Legon, states in its publication that 29 per cent of households in Ghana are formally defined as female-headed and this proportion has been growing over time.
It stated further that 35-50 per cent of households are female-headed if head is defined as primary worker or chief household decision-maker.Can paternal delinquency then be said to be a key factor responsible for young girls engaging in amorous relationships at their younger ages ?
Many people would disagree with the claim that if fathers perform their paternal functions effectively, there will be more balance in the upbringing of children but the statistics belie any attempt to play the ostrich.
It has been suggested that fathers be educated on their responsibility to their teenage children, especially their daughters.
Apparently, the father-factor in the upsurge of teenage pregnancies have been overlooked because all attention has so far been focused on mothers and the teenagers themselves.
Perhaps the time is now rife to focus on parents because some teenagers are getting pregnant simply to embarrass their delinquent fathers. Graphic
