Wow is the first thing that comes to mind, after watching 16 and Pregnant for the first time. First of all, I can't even imagine being 27 and pregnant but wow, 16 is just too young. I feel sorry for these girls, and more so for the choices they have made to rob their own youth to have children so young. I think everyone should have a chance to have babies if they want, but its all about timing. I don't think 16 can ever be a right time. Now in my saying this, I'm not saying that a 16 year old can't be a good mom or dad I just think its too young. If you don't give yourself a chance to grow up, how are you going to be able to help your child navigate through their life. Being a teen is an important time of your life, it's a real learning experience and a time to mature.
I can't believe how lightly some of these girls and boys were taking being a parent. It was very evident that they didn't even understand what it meant to be a parent. There was one young girl who told her child's father that he had to "love the person holding the baby", basically meaning he had to still want to be with her to be in the kids life. She pushed him out of the child's life, because he no longer wanted to be in hers. I don't think that's right. I also don't think it's ok for these kids to bail on one another.
This girl from today really just made me sad, she had no grasp of responsibility. She laughed it off that her mother was doing everything. At one point in the show I even thought she was going to tell her mom she couldn't do it anymore and she had to get rid of the baby. She told her mom she needed help and she wanted to get things accomplished in her life. The real underlying message of that conversation was that she didn't want to have to be strapped down with the baby anymore, and that she wanted to continue to live her life. Seeing her walk out of the house and leave her child behind, was a really saddening moment. The fact that their are children out their having babies and taking no responsibility.
Teen pregnancy is always going to be a problem.There is nothing about pregnant teenagers that stands out to me as acceptable. We have to motivate our youth to do better. Parents in today's society are "friends", and not always authority figures. I struggled a long time with this with my family. I saw my mom being more of a friend than a mother to my sister, and I deeply worried about my sister. She ended up being just fine, but I really think some kids need more of an upper hand and someone to tell them no and stick to it. Not all teenagers are born with the ability to make the right choices. Parents are suppose to teach their kids how to make the right choices, and take responsibility for what you do in life.
When a parent is void, or just standing by while their child grows up the person who suffers is the child. The parent becomes a bystander in the life of their child. This is also the reason so many kids turn to gangs. Children turn to gangs, and premature relationships because they are searching for an acceptance and love that they don't get at home. Regardless of how much kids push back, they'll always turn to someone who gives them guidance and accepts them. I wish that America had better ways to educate parents and prepare them. Young mothers should have to go through a certain amount of therapy or training before they can leave the hospital with a baby. Sounds pretty radical but it's something.
2 comments:
Uhg, that show drives me insane! One of the girls who's now on Teen Mom, I remember seeing her on 16 and Pregnant telling the doctor she didn't want to breastfeed because she didn't want it to mess up her boobs (the doctor promptly informed her that is was the pregnancy, not the breastfeeding, that would mess up her boobs; her jaw hit the floor faster than an anchor). Clearly she's not ready to be a mother... why follow through with it??
I had a friend in high school whose great great grandmother was still around, and only 86ish. Everyone in her family had kids when they were between 16 and 22, and she was pregnant by graduation. Rather than being upset or put off in the slightest, her family was happy for her and supportive. So I guess it just works for some people?
Oh wow, yeah when boobs are their biggest problems you know they aren't ready to be moms. It's sad they have no concept of what's important.
Its too bad that your friends family had that pattern, you'd think at some point one of them would say hey lets do better. No offense or anything. I just think people miss out on so much of their life. Teenage years are such a formative time.
Post a Comment