Teen Births

The data is from Stats NZ. It is the number of births to teenagers for each calendar year. Quite a remarkable change in trend. From 2002 to 2008 the number kept increasing, while since 2008 the numbers have almost halved.

This is a good thing. While some teenagers will be good parents, I can speak from first hand experience that being a parent is effing hard. It’s challenging enough in your 30s or 40s, let alone when you’re still in school or just out of it.

So why do people think the numbers have fallen away? Government policy on welfare reforms? Just coincidence? Changing societal norms?