[blg92187]

I completely disagree with this article. I got pregnant at 15. I kept my child, and at 16 I had a beautiful little girl. I lived on my own, graduated high school a year early, went on to college, worked two full time jobs and never ever received welfare. It's not right to assume that teen parents use up most of the welfare system. Go to this website and you'll see the facts : http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-welfareblack.htm It's also hard to believe that people think that because you're a teen, you're more likely to neglect your child, and abuse him or her. For the readers information, we TEEN parents can feel just as much love for a child as an adult. We care for them, we hurt when they hurt, we cry when they smile for the first time and take take their first steps, we take their sloppy scribbles of marker to work with us to show off to the world because we're so proud of them! Don't let some teenagers' mistakes as parents be the reputation for the rest of us. Adult parents screw up too. Remember that. But any mother, any age, any race, does the best she can. There is no set age that one must be to become a parent. A 15 year old girl is just as able to raise a child as a 25 year old woman.

[yoteach]

When I read your post to the article I felt the need to post something as well. I am a high school teacher. Last semester I had 15 girls either get pregnant or give birth. That was just LAST semester. I did not even include my students who already have children. I can honestly say, yes there are some teen parents who do what they need to do to take care of their child. But most of what I have seen has been the opposite. They do what they want they want to and it is their parents that are taking care of their child. This article has only stated the statistics you can read over and over in several places. I am currently putting together a lesson for my students talking about teen pregnancy and the facts and statistics associated with it. I have read the same things continuously. I wish i could find statistics that are more current. As I continue to teach, I am continually reminded of the statistics and realize that so many of them are true. You are an exception. You sound as if you have done wonderfully and I congratulate you on that! But unfortunately not every situation is like yours.

[lilmissmcintyre]

I do not agree with this at all. I am a 17 year old mother. I had my daughter when I was 15 years old, and she is now 19 months. She is a very healthy baby and is very smart for her age. I am still in school I have straight A's, and im not a bad student. Im not a drunk, or a druggy, I don't smoke. I plan on attending college when I graduate highschool next year, and I do work to support my daughter. Some of the things that are said in this article feel lik discrimination. WHen I read this I got very mad at most of the things that were said in here, its not right to assume that because teenagers have babys that their babys are going to be sick and unhealthy. I know girls in my school who are teens and have babys and they are still in school and they have healthy baby. People dont look at all the successes of babys or how there are many teenage mothers who go on to college and make something of themselves. they look at the ones who didnt really seem to care. Who gave up hope because they were pregnant. Not all teenage mothers are like that.

[RadicalxEdward]

I'm a teen father, and i understand where some of you guys seem to be offended by the article, i too read it thinking, i don't know any teen parent who neglects their kids and things of that sort. The article isn't saying everyone does, and it's not trying to convince people that teen parents are horrible parents. It's simply stating statistics.

Acceptance of teen pregnancy varies from community to community and family to family. Some people just aren't in situations where they can adequately take care of a child.

Imagine not having the support of family and friends (if your family does nothing but let you live with them, that's a TON of support still). Imagine trying to go to school and take care of a baby and have a job and afford a place to live and food and clothing and books and toys for the baby. and beyond that still trying not to lose a chance at a good career. Whether you can do it or not isn't the issue. It's simply that having a child makes these things enormously more difficult especially when the father isn't around.

And in these kinds of situations, fathers often aren't around simply because things get very chaotic for them as well. It seems easy for them but it's not. They go through everything the mother goes through and more (even the physical pains and vomiting, lol) plus, support for teen fathers is practically non-existent whereas support for teen mothers is much more common.

Take from the article the facts, and try not to be so offended. There are going to be many more situations down the road where you will be assumed to be one kind of parent, when your really a better kind.