Most mothers may think they know their teenage sons or daughters well, but two separate survey findings show that mothers might not know how their teenage children acquire information about sex or how they handle emotional problems.
The results of a survey conducted by the Tainan City Family Education Center conducted between April 1 and April 20 with 1,000 mothers of junior high school students in Tainan show that over 80 percent of mothers of junior high school students in the city worry about how their children get acquainted with the opposite sex.
The survey released on Tuesday also found that 72 percent of the mothers believed their children would seek help from their classmates if they were going through an emotionally tough time.
However, another survey conducted by the same center among 1,164 students from 12 junior high schools in Tainan in January found that 58 percent of the respondents make friends of the opposite sex on the Internet, and that 68 percent seek help on the Internet when they experience emotional problems.
The survey, which collected 773 valid questionnaires last month, also discovered that mothers care more about their children’s academic performance than their relations with friends or mental health.
Only three of the mothers surveyed were found often to say the words “I love you” to their children. The poll also found that when mothers speak to their teenage children, the words they most frequently use are: “Have you finished your homework yet?” “Have you reviewed your lessons yet?” and “Read your books.”
Asked what they would do if their daughter were to get pregnant or their son were to get his girlfriend pregnant, 59.4 percent of the mothers of teenage girls said they would ask their child to have an abortion, while 41.1 percent of the mothers of teenage boys said they would want their son’s girlfriend to do so, the survey results showed.
Less than 20 percent of the mothers of teenagers said they would demand a marriage so that the families could raise the baby together, the survey showed.
Analyzing the survey results, Tsai Ching-fen (蔡青芬), an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at Tainan County’s Chang Jung Christian University, said the parents of half of the surveyed teenagers were found to have graduated from university or higher education institutes.
However, less than 10 percent of the teenagers said they would discuss their troubled feelings with their parents. When confused, they mostly seek advice from teachers or classmates, or surf the Internet, watch television or listen to radio broadcasts for answers, Tsai said.
Taiwan’s birth rate among teenagers is the highest in Asia, statistics released by the Taiwan Association for Sexuality Education showed.
The birth rate fell to eight births per 1,000 teenagers in 2005, from 14 per 1,000 in 2000. This compares with four per 1,000 in Japan and 2.8 per 1,000 in South Korea.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and