teenage pregnancies will probably receive little support in the community.

But extreme measures such as those proposed by Dr. James, a former Police medical officer who has come into contact with many unwed mothers and people who have suffered due to poor parenting or neglect, should spark much needed discussion on the issue of teenage mothers.

There is no question that some of the Island's social ills are caused by poor parenting and the breakdown of the family.

There was a time when mothers -- or grandmothers -- could look after children during the day, but most women cannot afford to stay at home now. The result is that children, often infants, end up in day care and later suffer from neglect and lack of parental guidance. Where one of the parents, often the father, is completely absent, the problems are magnified.

It can be argued that the problem -- especially for girls under the age of 16 -- is not as severe as many believe. The fact that 27 girls in one year became pregnant when they were under the age of 16 may comfort some who believed the figure was higher.

Nonetheless, any figure is too high and the fact is that single mothers who are still in their teens (and their children) face great challenges -- regardless of whether the mother is a minor.

Dr. James is right that educating youngsters about birth control is not the whole answer, and improved parenting "classes'' are no solution on their own; this treats the symptoms of the "disease'', not its causes.

But both will go some way to reducing the incidence of pregnancy among young women -- especially if the children can be shown that they will have greater opportunities for better lives for themselves and their children if they are prepared to wait.

In the meantime, calls for mothers to be licensed are certainly unworkable -- what do you do when a mother breaches the licence? Imprison her? Force an abortion on her? Introduce mandatory sterilisation? Nor is it a Government's role to force its way any further into people's lives -- the Government is not entitled to set limits on important decisions like these, regardless of what happens in China.

Where Dr. James is correct is saying that the leaders of the Country -- both in the current government and in the previous one -- have stayed as far away from this issue as they possibly can.

Progressive Labour Party MP Delaey Robinson deserves credit for having spoken out on the issue in yesterday's newspaper. And he is right to say there are no quick fixes. But promising more facilities and better parenting education is not the answer.

But he is right to say that young women who suffer from low self-esteem go on to have children because they "will love them''. That is the key to the puzzle. If young women can learn that their self-esteem will not improve if they have children and that it is better to wait, then Bermuda will be getting somewhere.