SIXTEEN AND PREGNANT

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adolescence is the period in the life of a person comprising between 10 and 19 years old. In some cases, adolescence is interrupted when the girl gets pregnant: one in five women in the world has a child before turning 18 and each year 16 million births to teenage mothers are produced. In the poorest regions of the world, one in three women is a teenage mother.

According to experts, the most appropriate age for motherhood is between 20 and 35 years old since is less risky for both the mother and the baby’s health. Teenage pregnancy is considered high risk and carries more complications. The adolescent is not ready physically or mentally to have a baby and to take the huge responsibility that motherhood brings.

Most of teenage mothers present:

- Poor nutrition and deficiency of essential nutrients for the proper development of the baby

- An increased number of spontaneous abortions

- Premature births, a large number of babies of teenagers are born before 37 weeks of gestation

- Babies are underweight because the immaturity of their body makes their uterus not fully developed

- Teen moms have more children with health problems and developmental disorders

- In cases of pregnancies among girls under 15, the baby is more likely to be born with malformations.

Psychological complications for pregnant adolescents:

- Fear to be rejected socially: one of the consequences of adolescence and pregnancy is that the girl feels criticized by her surroundings and tends to isolate from the group.

- Rejecting the baby: girls are not willing to take time and responsibilities involved in being a mother. However, this also makes them feel guilty, sad and their self-esteem is reduced.

- Telling their families about their pregnancy is often a source of conflict and even rejection by their own environment.

- The children of teenage parents often suffer higher rates of school failure, problems of social integration or learning.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended preventing teen pregnancy by:

• Stopping marriage before age 18, 
• Increasing the use of contraceptives during adolescence, 

In any case, the best prevention is to give young people a good sex education from the bosom of the family. It is important to report the risks and complications of pregnancy in adolescence and all the changes that will occur from the time when the teenager becomes pregnant.

Communication in the family is essential; therefore, it must be open and transparent so that young people have all the information they need.

We talked to Carolina and Sabrina, two girls that now are happy mothers, about their experience with pregnancy.

BT: What is your name?
C: Carolina.
BT: How old were you when you got pregnant?
C: 16 years old.
BT: What is your child's name? 
C: Benjamin.
BT: How are you now?
C: I'm fine with my husband and my beautiful son.
BT: How old is your son?
C: 5 years old.
BT: How did your parents react to the news?
C: Badly at first, because I was a teenager and their only daughter; but then they calmed down because they knew Gabriel -my husband- was going to take care of me.
BT: What was the first solution you found to your problem?
C: I wanted to keep my baby. And, after telling my husband, he agreed, so everything was easier. I was not alone.
BT: What bad consequences did the pregnancy bring?
C: The first thing I did was leaving school. Then my friends left me because they thought I was a bad influence.
BT: And now? 
C: I take care of my son and went back to school and now I'm in college studying medicine. Gabriel is a good father and since he learned that he would be father he worked hard. Then I started working to take better care of Benjamin.

BT: What is your name?
S: Sabrina
BT: How old were you when you got pregnant?
S: 15 years old.
BT: How did your parents react?
S: They were angry, but they didn’t want me to get an abortion.
BT: And your partner?
S: He said he wasn’t ready to be a father, so he left and decided he didn’t want anything to do with my child.
BT: What was the first solution you found for that problem?
S: I decided to have my baby.
BT: What consequences did it bring you?
S: I had to leave school. I could not see my friends. In my school, when they found out I was pregnant, I was criticized.
BT: And how did you feel?
S: Depressed and lonely.
BT: Did you regret the decision you made?
S: No, because I love my daughter Lorena. Since I found out I was expecting a child, I had a unique and special feeling.
BT: Why did you get pregnant? Did you use protection? 
S: We did but the condom was pricked.
BT: What would you say to other girls that are teenagers and pregnant? 
S: It is not easy to raise a child alone. Before having sex, think about the consequences that it can bring to you and your families.

After reading about this issue and listening to those girls talk about their children, we came to the conclusion that when someone is mature enough to have sex (without using protection –sometimes-) then that person should be prepared to face the consequences and responsibilities of it.

If you still want to have sex, GET INFORMED FIRST, read, ask your parents or teachers. Using a condom or taking pills can be a safe way of avoiding not only pregnancy, but also lots of sexually transmitted diseases.

INFORM YOURSELF. BE SAFE. STAY SAFE.  

Jesica Tola and Brenda Callisaya - 5ht Year

ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS IN ADOLESCENCE

To start talking about this, we have a typical trigger question: is it possible to have a ‘lasting relationship’ being a teenager? The answer is yes and no. We will answer this with another question: when teenagers find boyfriends or girlfriends, do they want the relationship to last and have a future? 

The saying is self-explaining: 'it will last as long as you care for it and you’ll keep your partner for as long as you desire'. 

People say that the time a relationship lasts depends on both parts of the couple. Personally, we think that it also depends on society or the person’s group of friends. 

According to various studies, the ‘romantic love’ depends on three factors: physical attraction, intimacy (which means to thoroughly know your partner) and commitment. 

During adolescence is very common to feel the ‘attraction’ towards the other person, because society stands that the ‘outside’ of a person is extremely exposed and it is given great importance when you start going out with someone. 

Obviously, without the combination of the three factors, a lasting relationship is impossible. If there is only attraction, it will be only a ‘moment of love’ or a chance to discover that that person will never be ‘THE one’ and that he or she will be attracted to other people (sooner or later). 

The most important thing is to be committed: if there’s no commitment, the relationship won’t last. You must feel the urge of being with someone and see that person as a perfect companion in the future. 

Typically, teenagers have shorter relationships because adolescence is a stage in which people instinctively seek for many different experiences and try almost everything once. Adolescence is about discovering who you are, what values you consider to be important and what you want to achieve in life. 

That’s why we believe that romantic relationships in adolescence are established –mainly, there’s always the exception to the rule- to have fun. Dating someone is an opportunity to go to new places and live new experiences. Dating can be a way to fit in a group of friends; if all your friends go out with someone, one can also feel the need to find a ‘soul mate’. For some people, going out with someone, is a matter of ‘social status’.

The reality –and so often heard from teachers, grandparents, mothers or even psychologists- is that during adolescence we exaggerate things. Everything is new and unique, that’s why we believe our first girlfriend or boyfriend is actually ‘the love of our lives’, ‘the one’ and so on. 

But…is it possible to find ‘true love’ during adolescence? This, we’ll discuss next time.

Malena Avagliano, Macarena Beceiro, Valeria Gasol and Camila Periale - 5th Year

READ TO GROW

Adults believe that young people and teenagers don’t read anymore. This issue has been discussed already; but we would like to give our opinion on the matter and show everybody that TEENAGERS READ! 

We would like to help other teens start reading, finding the habit of opening a book delightful. 

What causes us to read, in our opinion, is the possibility of taking a break from reality, living the life of other people, and imagining how serious our lives would be if we were similar to the characters in our book. When we read we are excited, we are happy. When you have an original book in your hands, it feels so good. You are fascinated with a story and want to read all day. 

The best of all is that, without knowing it, we are nurturing our lives for a better future. 

However, only 5% of the young students read for personal interest or pleasure. Very few find time to read something that is not related to school homework. 

We want to share what we like to read with you and to recommend books that can be as attractive to you as they are to us.

Feel free to leave a comment if you have read any of these books or would like to read one. Today, we bring you three different stories. 

GOOD MORNING, PRINCESS! By Blue Jeans

This book is about a group of friends who have known each other for more than two years and have never been separate… but things begin to change as they start having feelings that they never thought they were going to feel. 

THE DARK SIDE by Sally Green

This book is about a young man named Nathan Byrn, son of a White Witch and a black sorcerer. This makes him divided between light and darkness. Nathan decides to become the owner of his destiny and determine his road. This book is similar to the Harry Potter saga, with some originality in the powers that witches have.

THE MAZE RUNNER by James Dashner

It's about a young boy named Thomas who is trapped in a strange space surrounded by gigantic walls called "Area" and doesn’t know how he got there. Like him, there are more young people who do not know how they got there. Every morning a maze stone door opens and is closed at night. Every thirty days someone else arrives. A fact alters the routine of the place: a girl arrives with a message. 

Start reading!! See you next time!!!

Camila Falcón Díaz, Macarena Fernández and Carolina Izquierdo - 4th Year

TOP 5: NEW SINGERS

What do teenagers listen to these days? Here you are going to know new music and the answer to the question in a top 5 of singers/bands. Hope you enjoy it!

NUMBER 5:

Emblem3 is an American reggae-pop band from Washington, consisting of brothers Wesley and Keaton Stromberg. They signed with Simon Cowell's (like One Direction) record label Syco Records and Columbia Records after finishing 4th on the second season of The X Factor USA. They launched their debut album called "Nothing to lose" on 2013 with Drew Chadwick, who later left the band, leaving E3's future uncertain.

They did a little tour and also performed at multiple festivals. They have done shows with many other artists like Jack & Jack (from Magcon, friends of Shawn Mendes) and they have a song with them called "Cheat codes".

They have a studio album, two extended plays and two singles with videos.

On The X Factor they performed good old songs like "Hey Jude" by The Beatles, "No One" by Alicia Keys and "Forever Young" by Alphaville.

GO AND LISTEN TO:

- Chloe (You're the one that I want)

- XO

- Forever Together 

- Nothing to lose

NUMBER 4:

5 Seconds of Summer -abreviated as 5SOS- is an Australian pop-punk band formed in Sidney and consists of Luke Hemmings (lead vocals. guitar), Michael Clifford (guitar, vocals), Calum Hood (bass guitar, vocals) and Ashton Irwin (drums, vocals). They were youtube celebrities, posting videos of themselves covering songs. They toured with One Direction on the Take me Home Tour where they opened their shows.

They cite bands like McFly, Blink182, Green Day and Busted as their influencies.

5SOS became popular when a member of One Direction, Louis Tomlinson, posted the link to their youtube video of their song "Gotta get out" saying that he'd been a fan of 5SOS "for a while". The connection between 5sos and One Direction extends to both artists being managed by London based Modest management. This has led to 5sos being called a boy band in the media. Unlike many boys bands, they write their songs, play their own instruments and they are not a dance group.

They have one studio album, six extended plays, five singles and eight music videos. Also, on 15 December 2014, the band announced their first live slbum, LIVESOS. Now, they're doing new music and launched "She's kida hot", the first single of their second album.

GO AND LISTEN TO:

- She looks so perfect

- Amnesia

- Good girls

- Try hard

NUMBER 3:

Victorian Loren "Tori" Kelly (born December, 1992) is and American singer and songwritter who slowly gained recognition after starting to post videos on youtube at the age of 14. When she was 16, she auditioned for the singing competition tv series American Idol. After being eliminated if the show, Kelly began to work on her own music. In 2012, she launched her first EP that she produced, wrote and mixed herself, called "Handmade songs by Tori Kelly". Scooter Braun (manages a lot of singers like Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande) became her manager and introduced her to Capitol Records. Also, she can play the piano, drums and the guitar.

GO AND LISTEN TO: 

- Dear no one

- Paper hearts

- Stained

- Celestial

NUMBER 2:

Shawn Peter Raul Mendes (born August 8,1998) is a Canadian singer. He began posting song covers on the popular video sharing application Vine. He caught the attention of Andrew Gertler and Island Records A&R Ziggy Chareton which led to him signing a deal with the record label and he realised his first single "Life of the Party" there.

Mendes toured as a member of the MagCon Tour where other young artists like Nash Grier and Cameron Dallas became popular. He was also on a tour with Austin Mahone as an opening act and recorded his EP. Now he is touring with Taylor Swift with his album debut called "Handwritten".

He did a song as featured artist with the band The Vamps, called "Oh Cecilia (Breaking My Heart)" and he is a friend of Ed Sheeran too.

GO AND LISTEN TO:

- Life of the Party

- A little too much

- Believe

- Air

NUMBER 1:

Edward Christopher Sheeran (born 17 February 1991) is and English singer-songwritter and musician. In early 2011, Sheeran did an independent extended play, "No. 5 Collaborations project", which caught the attention of both Elton John and Jamie Foxx: then he signed with Asylum Records.

Sheeran popularity abroad began in 2012. He made a guest appereance on Taylor Swift's album and wrote songs for One Direction. On 2013 Grammy Awards, he performed "The A team" with Elton John. Also, he performed 3 sold out concerts at Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium.

He started touring with Taylor Swift, where he opened her shows. Then he did his own tours called "+ Tour" and "x Tour".

GO AND LISTEN TO:

- The A team

- Thinking out loud

- Don't

- Give me love

This is the end of our TOP 5: SINGERS. Stay tuned for the next TOP 5: SERIES!

Santiago Vanella, Jazmín Mendoza and Iván Menoni - 4th Year

DO TEENAGERS READ?

It's not strange to hear adults saying that 'the habit of reading is lost' and that 'teenagers are always using computers and mobile phones but NEVER pick up a book'. We bet you know what we are talking about, whether you are a teen or a grown up. 

But, is this really true?

To find out, we asked students in our school if they ever read. If that was the case, we asked what they read and how or where. 

Here's what we came up with.

What do teenagers read?

According to our questionnaire, most adolescents read these four genres:

Horror

Horror novels are genres of literature, which are intended to, or have the capacity to frighten, scare, or startle their readers by inducing feelings of horror and terror.

It's usually supernatural, though it can be non-supernatural. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger fears of a society. 

The genre of horror has ancient origins with roots in folklore and religious tradition focusing on death, the after life, evil, the demonic and the principle of ‘the thing’ embodied in the person. These were manifested in stories of beings such as witches, vampires, werewolves and ghosts.

Fan-fiction

The term fanfiction or fan fiction, often abbreviated to fanfic or fic, refers to works of fiction written by fans of a literary or dramatic work (film, novel, tv show, video game, anime...). In these stories the character, situations and environments described in the original of the author's own creation are used and new roles for these are developed. 

This kind of reading, often leads to writing: it's one of the most important sources of inspiration for teenagers to start writing their own stories. 

Romance

The romance novel or romantic novel is a literary genre. Novels of this type of genre fiction place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an 'emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending'. There are many subgenres of the romance novel including fantasy, historical, science fiction and paranormal.

According to the Romance Writers of America, the main plot of a romance novel must revolve about the two people as they develop romantic love for each other and the work to build a relationship. Both the conflict and the climax of the novel should be directly related to that core theme of developing a romantic relationship, although the novel can also contain subplots that do not specifically relate to the main characters` romantic love.

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginative content such as futuristic settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, time travel, faster than light travel, parallel universes and extraterrestrial life. It usually eschews the supernatural, and unlike the related genre of fantasy, its imaginary elements are largely plausible within the scientifically established context of the story. Science fiction often explores the potential consequences of scientific and other innovations, and has been called a 'literature of ideas'.

Where do teenagers read?

When people say we don't read, they may be actually wrong. Teenagers are used to reading in a very different way, far from traditional books. We might be reading in a bus, right next to you, but you think we are checking our phones or social networks. 

PDF

If you are looking for a particular book, all you have to do is Google the title up, generally followed by 'PDF'. When the results appear, you click on the site chosen and download the file. You can do this in your tablet, mobile phone, ipod and laptop -among others-. 

Wattpad

You must log in to an account in Wattpad via Internet or by downloading the application. Once done, you can follow your favourite writers to see all their publications. All novels or stories you find here are adaptations, none will be original except the stories created by users (you can also do it) and add to 'your library' what you want to read. In each text you have the option to rate and comment freely.

Facebook

This might be news for a lot of people, but you can also read books on Facebook. There are lots of FB pages that upload fanfics and stories written by several users. All you have to do is click on the album and you will find the consecutive chapters under the pictures. 

So, next time you hear someone say that 'teenagers don't read anymore', remember our words...WE STILL READ!!

Brisa Gómez and Florencia Migliavacca - 3rd Year

HUMAN ALIENATION THANKS TO TECHNOLOGY?

Technology influences us in ways that we don´t believe or imagine. It gives us benefits when we use it limitedly and it distracts us when we use it unconsciously, without moderation.

These technologies facilitate the development of society and they give us tools to solve problems that appeared to have no solution.

Nowadays, society is known as an ‘information society’ because technology caused this change.

Now, the people are using technology to communicate; we are losing the habit of ‘face to face’ communication and therefore personal relationships. We have lost our dialogue; we don’t go to libraries anymore, and so on.

We are less dependent on the people around and we are more dependent on technology.

To confirm this idea, we decided to interview people from different generations to see what they thought about technology: a teenager (17 years old), a housewife (44 years old) and a lovely grandmother (75 years old). Here's what they said. 

BerthoTimes: What are social networks? We refer to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, among others.

Teenager: They are part of the ‘Media’, a way to keep society informed.

Housewife: A quick way to stay in touch, because if I compare it with when I was a little girl and I have to send a letter to San Juan, the answer comes to me in a month.

Grandma: I don’t know them.

BT: How often are they used?

T: It depends on each person. There are certain people who are dependent of them and others who are independent. I am dependent on this case because now instead of answering the question, I am answering a Whatsapp message.

H: Exaggeratedly.

G: I do not know them. I have no idea.

BT: What do you think of the initiative of leaving electronic devices aside when socializing?

T: I think it’s a good idea, that way people would talk to each other personally again.

H: Good, It should be left aside (the mobile phone) because people don’t look at you when they speak anymore.

G: I would say that, before technology, we didn’t live with our mobile phones in the hand…we didn’t look like zombies like you do. You can live the same without a mobile phone and if you don’t have one, you just look for a public phone.

BT: Is using the mobile phone a disadvantage during class?

T: No, because I use it to pass tests sometimes. I think this is right…

H: During class, it shouldn’t be used. It is important to have it on you all morning because a responsible parent knows when to reach his or her child. If you were a teacher, would you let a student answer a phone call from his or her mother?

G: It is a disadvantage!! A huge disadvantage because you do not learn anything! You learn things half-way! If I ask a teenager what happened on October 12th, they have no clue!

BT: Are you annoyed when people are using their phones and other electronic devices all the time?

T: If I'm talking about something important and they don’t listen, it is. If it’s not important, then it doesn’t bother me.

H: Yes, because they are disconnected from reality, and they don’t pay attention in the street, adults talk to them and they don’t listen to us because they are aware of the ‘Clin clin’ (phone’s ringtone) and don’t even listen to their mothers!

G: Yes because… I'll tell you: They don’t pay attention when they are crossing streets, railroad tracks. They look silly.

BT: What would you change of technology? 

T: Nothing…it is perfect the way it is; except that it is constantly evolving…and I can’t keep track!

H: There should be a little more privacy because, when you don’t know how to use it it can bring you trouble.

G: Leave those bloody mobile phones or, at the most, use them ONLY when you need them! Back in my day, we waited 15 YEARS for the mobile phone to be invented…and nobody died waiting! Now, if a teenager doesn’t have a mobile –and the last one launched- he or she ‘dies’. They go to the toilet with the phone, just in case. It strikes me because it is foolish. I don’t mean technology overall…but mobile phones!

So…what do YOU think? Are YOU alienated by technology and social networks? It's time for us to leave electronic gadgets aside and start talking to people personally, admiring the world we live in. There's so much beauty! 

Cecilia Gliubizzi and Candela Córdoba - 5th Year

TEENAGERS AND FOOD

Adolescence is a difficult life stage, as it represents the transition between being a child and starting to feel like a ‘grown-up’.

In this period, nutrition also brings difficulties because personality tends to get independent but vulnerable to social standards, which sometimes leads to ignoring meals that shall be replaced by 'pecking' and fast food consumed outside home.

It deserves a special mention the concern that teenagers have with their body image and in which conditions they carry out restrictive diets to get closer to an ideal of beauty, influenced by the social standards of the time, because that can lead to serious eating disorders. Therefore, it is very important that family knows how to pass on to the children respect and love for their body, at the same time as healthy eating habits.

Teenagers have nutritional needs marked by sexual maturation processes: they increase size and weight, body mass and bone mass; so it requires a greater amount of energy and nutrients as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals, in a balanced way.

The needs are very different among adolescents and depend on their personal characteristics. This justifies the use of different types of diets, which cannot be generalized. Nevertheless, we do have a guide for a diet, indicated in the following Decalogue:

1. Your supply must be varied: our body needs different nutrients to be healthy, no food contains all the nutrients, so we should not always eat the same thing. Enjoy your meals in the company of family and friends, and see what others are eating, you may discover new food to give your body a greater amount of energy.

2. Consume fruits and vegetables: fruits and vegetables contain nutrients that help keep you healthy and are the ideal complement for breakfast, snack, lunch, and dinner.

3. Hygiene is essential for your health: you mustn’t touch food without washing your hands with soap and water first; brush your teeth after every meal and after brushing them at night, do not ingest food or drinks –except water-.

4. Drinking sufficient water is essential to keep the body well hydrated, since more than half of our weight is water. You should take at least 5 glasses of water per day. If it is very hot or you do an intense physical activity, you will have to increase fluid intake.

5. Make gradual changes: do not try to change your eating habits and behavior from one day to another. You'll find it easier to do it little by little, marking you concrete objectives every day, do not dispense with what you like, but try to make your diet balanced and containing all the nutrients.

 6. Consume food rich in carbohydrates: half of the calories in your diet should come from these nutrients, especially processed products made of wheat, cereals, potatoes, yucca and vegetables and not of sweet candies, chocolates and so on.

7. Maintain an appropriate weight for your age, according to your sex, height, body constitution, physical activity that you do, and hereditary factors.

8. Eat regularly: our body needs energy as vehicles need fuel to move. To get up after spending the night without eating, our energy level is very low, so you should have a good breakfast, take your snacks at mid-morning and mid afternoon. Also, your lunch should be full and your dinner should be satisfying.

9. Beam exercises: as a bicycle that is not used gets rusty, the same thing happens with muscles and bones, they must be kept active for them to work well. Try to do some exercise every day, for example take the stairs instead of using the elevator or, if you can, go walking to school. In your free time practice some physical activity.

10. Remember that there is no good or bad food. Avoid excesses: keep in mind that it is no good to eat too much or too little.

To sum up, balance and variety are the keys to make your diet healthy. This is the way to keep a good, strong figure to help you maintain a fine health and an enjoyable life.

Santiago Sevilla, Azul Melgarejo and Margarita Mercado – 5th Year