Stay Out Loud is our monthly series featuring articles writen by teen, for teens. Got something you want to say? Email your submissions and story ideas to stayteen@thenc.org.

With a tear running down his cheek, the teenage father explained his problems earning money to support his family. "It's real hard to bring money in... can't pay the rent on time, can't buy my baby clothes that I need to really buy her." Simply put, this young man was not ready to father a child and underestimated the responsibilities of doing so.

Unfortunately, he isn't alone. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, half of teens have never thought about how a pregnancy might affect their lives. "I've never really thought about it because I don't plan on it happening to me," says one high school student. Problem is, that confidence is misleading. The fact is that one in three American girls will become pregnant before the age of 20; a statistic that is way too high.

The short film "Too Young," (watch it at The National Campaign's website) from which the first quote is taken, talks to teen parents about the struggles they face and how things came to be. "I missed out on graduating with my class," says one girl. "I kind of wanted to cry because I didn't want to be that kid, left out." By getting pregnant, she did become "that kid." In fact, parenthood is the leading cause of girls dropping out of school. The odds of teen mothers completing their education are against them: less than half ever graduate from high school and fewer than two percent earn a college degree by age 30.

The financial difficulties faced by teen parents are startling. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the cost of raising a child for the first year can cost upwards of $11,000, while raising a kid for 18 years can total nearly a quarter of a million dollars (and that doesn't even include the costs of going to college). Eight out of ten fathers don't marry the mother, so the task of bringing in enough money to adequately support the child becomes that much harder.

The problems don't just affect teen parents, though. Children of teen parents often bear a burden that they don't deserve. I hate to give a laundry list, but the number of different obstacles faced by children of teen parents is shocking. They are more likely to have health problems and suffer abuse and neglect compared to children of older mothers. Children of teen mothers do worse in school than those born to older parents. They are 50% more likely to repeat a grade, are less likely to complete high school than the children of older mothers, and have lower performance on standardized tests. They are more likely to grow up poor and without a father. Daughters of teen mothers are three times more likely to become teen mothers themselves, while sons of teen mothers are twice as likely to end up in prison. It puts the child in an unfair position; it's not their fault they were born into imperfect circumstances.

Think about how a pregnancy would affect not only your life, but also that of your child. Prevent it from happening. Don't be a statistic.