Why We Are Losing Our Children

The State of Our Youth Today Eating Disorders 11% of young people in America suffer from either anorexia nervosa or bulimia. 90-95% of all patients with eating disorders are female adolescents. Two out of three teenage girls surveyed were trying to lose weight. Only 50% of those with eating disorders report being cured; about 6% of serious cases die.

The State of Our Youth Today Family relationships/broken homes 1 out of 2 marriages end in divorce. Almost 1 out of 3 children live in a single parent home. Parents spend 40% less time with their children today then they did a generation ago. 1 out of 5 teens has not had a conversation with their parents that lasted 10 minutes in more than a month. The number of single dads grew 70%, and the number of households headed by single moms grew 25% in the last decade.

The State of Our Youth Today Music and Television Teens are glued to the TV on average for 5 hours per day. Teens listen to an average of forty hours of music per week. Most of the teen music aims at aggressive and violent messages about sex and drugs.

The State of Our Youth Today Prostitution 95% of prostitutes are runaways. At any time there are 600,000 adolescents involved in prostitution. The average runaway’s first act of prostitution takes place at 14 years old. About 1 billion dollars is spent on prostitution each year in the United States.

The State of Our Youth Today Sexual Activity 50% of all teens are sexually active. 8 in 10 girls and 6 in 10 boys wish they had waited until they were older before having sex. Due to sexual activity 15.3 million people contract a sexually transmitted disease and 2/3 of that number are teenagers. Experts estimate that 90% of all rapes are never reported.

The State of Our Youth Today Sexual Assault Somewhere in America a woman is sexually assaulted every 2 minutes, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. www.rainn.org According to the Justice Department, 1 in 2 rape victims is under age 18, 1 in 6 is under age 12. 1 out of 3 girls have been sexually abused before age 18. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 boys are sexually molested before 18. In America a woman is sexually assaulted every two minutes.

The State of Our Youth Today Substance Abuse Junior and Senior High School students consume 1.1 billion dollars on beer. 18% of teens drink more than once per month, 18% drink regularly, and 25% smoke regularly. 2 million American teens start smoking each year and 75% continue to smoke for 10 years after and most for their entire lifetime. 10% of youth ages 12-17 report using illicit drugs. An estimated 1.8 million Americans 12 and older are current users of cocaine.

The State of Our Youth Today Substance Abuse 56% of youth reported marijuana as easy to obtain. 21% of youth reported heroin as easy to obtain. 14% of youth reported being approached by someone selling drugs during the thirty days prior to the poll. 113 million youth ages 12-17 reported currently drinking alcohol. 33 million youth ages 12-17 admit to being binge drinkers (meaning 5 or more drinks in one occasion). 12 million youth ages 12-17 were heavy drinkers or otherwise classified as alcoholics.

The State of Our Youth Today Suicide In the U.S. more people kill themselves than are killed by all other causes. 8 of 10 people who kill themselves give clues before doing so. There is an 80% chance that people who fail an attempted suicide will try again. 10% of girls contemplate suicide while 7.5% of guys do. Every thirty minutes in America - 29 kids will attempt suicide, 2,795 teenage girls will become pregnant, and 22 girls will get abortions.

The State of Our Youth Today Teen Pregnancy 4 in 10 teenage girls get pregnant at least once before they reach the age of twenty. The United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world. Teen pregnancy costs society at least $7 billion dollars a year. From girls ages 15 to 19, 86% of births were to unmarried teens. (www.swmihoh.org)

The State of Our Youth Today Unbelief Research studies indicate that 70 percent of young people leave the church by age 22 and that figure increases to 80 percent by age 30. American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) revealed that the percentage of Americans claiming “no religion” almost doubled in about two decades (8.1 percent in 1990 and 15 percent in 2008). Among the young (18 to 29 years old) the number doubled (11 percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 2008), with 73 percent coming from religious homes and 66 percent describing themselves as “de-converts.” 

We Are Losing Our Children… … Because we are losing our parents More parents are without God (Duet. 6:6) More parents are setting the wrong example (Prov. 20:7; Ezek. 16:44) More parents are divorcing (Mal. 2:14)

We Are Losing Our Children… … Because we are losing our parents More parents are without proper priorities (Mt. 6:33) and time (Eph. 5:16) More parents are without proper standards and discipline (Eph. 6:1-4)

We Are Losing Our Children… … Because we are losing our culture Young people are pulled away by worldly friends (Psa. 1:1-3; Prov. 1:10; 12:26; 22:24-25; 1 Cor. 15:33) Young people are pulled away by the liberal media Young people are pulled away by liberal education

We Are Losing Our Children… … Because we are losing the church Young people are hearing less gospel preaching from the pulpit or class room (2 Tim. 4:2) Young people are hearing less balanced preaching (Acts 20:20,27) Young people are witnessing more worldly members (1 Cor. 5:1-13)

We Are Losing Our Children… … Because we are losing the church Young people are hearing more complaining (Phil. 2:14)

We Are Losing Our Children… … Because our children are losing themselves Children have a free-will of their own (Ezek. 18:5,10) Young people often reject wise counsel (Prov. 1:8,30)

We Are Losing Our Children But There Is Hope Train up a child (Prov. 22:6; 23:22-26) A child can learn from the worst and be different (Ezek. 18:14) A lost child can return (Lk. 15:18) A young person can choose the right course (Psa. 119:9-16)