Teen Parents

Some of you may remember me, probably not. But anyway, I’m 18 now and about to become a parent.
I was just wondering what everyones views on teen parents was? Does it make you angry? Is it a major social problem? Are teenagers simply unable to cope with parenting?

My niece had her first child at the age of 14 her second at the age of 17. She is a single parent living in a section 8 evironment recieving assistance from the Gov’t.she is 28 now and she is also about to get off the assistance and get a fine job being a nurse. She has busted her butt to rise above the norm. I am proud of her. Her children are wonderful young people, a delight.

Teen parenting does not mean you are incapable of making a fine existance for you or your child. You just have to have the mind and the backbone to work your butt off and not quit.

Don’t give up your dreams work your butt off and you should do OK. Congratulations you are entering one hell of a phase in life, enjoy it and don’t lose your perspectives.

I could have a kid and be fine as long as I could financially handle it. I can’t, of course.

There are reasons also why I wouldn’t want one at 17 such as changes to my body that never go away (if you’re the female parent) or time taken away from youth given for the child (this isn’t a bad thing, but some people are a bit more selfish than others) or not being prepared for the maturity needed to be a role model.

Good luck. I’m sure you’ll do fine if what you truly want is a happy, healthy baby with a father who takes care of them.

The effects of Capitalistic profiteering is a major social problem.

Teenagers becoming parents is not ideal, I’ll leave it at that.

‘‘The effects of Capitalistic profiteering is a major social problem’’

Agreed, this basically affects everything you do.

If anyone can find something that hasn’t been comercialised yet…then I wan’t to buy it. :slight_smile:

Yes.
Yes.
Yes.

One soul for sale. Overnight delivery availible.

Aw… Why not? I don’t see any inherent problem with it. They would just have to meet the same criteria as any other ‘good’ parents (able to provide for well-being of child, etc).

In some ways I think young parents may be preferable to older parents. They probably have more energy and flexibility and more wealth of resources (for instance a larger support network i.e. parents) and less strictly material wealth which might in fact be a good thing. Congratulations, and good luck! :slight_smile:

When around 95% of the population are clueless sheep how far a distance is there between the ideal parent and the widely regarded “good” one.

Being that ‘ideal’ is a subjective concept, it depends. Maybe to you, teen parents are not ‘ideal’. I’m just asking why. The idea that “95% of the population are clueless sheep” really only speaks to the matter of clueless sheep, rather than teen parents. If that worked, parents would not be ideal, and that doesn’t seem to work either.

Money has little to do with parenting. As long as the little ones have food and clothes- all the basics, it really comes down to how the parents raise their kids. Simply put, it can be broken down into the following- Time spent with the child, the parent’s responsibility, and moral grounding. I’m sure people can think up more than just these few things, these are just some examples.

Little kids have no concept of money, or why their parents spend so much time at work to get it.

In developed places, there really shouldn’t be a problem. Food and clothing is actually pretty cheap- just go to friggin Wal-Mart. Stealin’ the clothes off of chineese kids’ backs to give them to US. Money is not the problem.

The idea that “95% of the population are clueless sheep” speaks to the fact that what is widely regarded as good is not the standard you should be aiming for.

I think the scandal is never being a teenager, that is the taste of the current zeitgeist. You see in the time of Jesus, Mary was 15 when she bore him but that was never a scandal (her scandal is having Jesus without a human Father). The zeitgeist of her time is different from ours and the maturity develops faster due to the agriculture setting of her environment and poverty in her region. So the biological aspect of a human having children is merely accindental and not the whole point of being a parent. As long as you are mature to take care and develop the well-being of another human well it is quite commendable. And please note that age does not necessarily follows maturity it only speaks of the lenght of existence of an organism.

Pragmatically speaking it is really not advisable to have children at a very young age. The lifestyle today, well in my country, requires at least a college level of education to live a good life that develops well-being. This phenomena is due to the shift of a society relying on agriculture and simple market to a society that relies on indirect services and industry.

Though biologically speaking, in my opinion, it is quite the opposite.

I agree.

Mary having Jesus without a human father is a miracle from God. Not a “scandal”. And most teenagers aren’t capable of raising a child, because they arent’ far from children themselves. And rarely do teens plan on having children as a teenager, so they are unprepared when they are faced with the possibility of a child.

You have taken the word scandal in my reply out of context. It is so scandalous to have children out of wedlock in her particular time. In fact so scandalous that the Jewish law would prescribed stoning to death. That is why Joseph decides to secretly call off the marriage as not to cause a scandal and Mary’s death and that is why God send Gabriel into a dream as to warn Joseph that though scandalous Mary’s pregnancy is not with malice or with human agents.

I guess you also confuse age with wisdom sir. Even if a person is thirty years of age he cannot contribute to the well-being of another person (“children”) if he or she is not mature enough.

Again the problem here is the emotional block we have. Yes not all teenagers are mature therefore not all teenagers must be early parents, I support that logic.

But reality check please, in some society 15 years old are far more mature in responsibilities and outlook in life than their counterparts let’s say in the non-agriculturally based society. They can sustain their families even at a young age.

Reality check again, yes immature individuals ranging from teenagers to biological adults prematurely begins a family…But please let us not begin a witchhunt on those who are not mature and because of unchecked appetites became a parent. Let us support, pray and teach them to be mature individuals to be models for their children. I mean do not discriminate, they lapsed in judgment once in their lives but this must not be a hindrance. Let us help and educate them not to lapse again.

Now sir isn’t that THE mature and Christian stance?

Did Mary concent to becoming impregnated by God?

Is God a rapist?

I’m certainly not your average British teen parent. But everyone makes mistakes, whatever financial background they’re from. It is unfair to describe it as a mistake though. I’m extremely happy and excited about the prospects of becoming a father.
I don’t really know how mature I would be considered. I like to think that I’m quite mature, but I know I can be immature at times. But I think that maturity is largely to do with facing up to our responsibilities. Most males my age would have done a runner had they found out they were about to take on the responsibility of becoming a father, but I stuck around. I never once thought about running away from my responsibilities.
I hope that I will make a great parent. I have my parenting techniques thought out, following them will probably be a lot harder. Anyway, I don’t think that money has anything to do with being a good parent. Its about your attitude and the love you have to give. I always here people say “I’m not financially ready to have a child.” Which means “I’m not ready to sacrifice personal spending for a child.” Personally I would rather be with child anyway, material things mean a lot less to me.

Interesting point though quite easily to answer.

The definition of rape, well at least in our constitution and my connotation, is any foreign object that is inserted in any cavity of any sex by another or the same sex in purpose to derive sexual pleasure or exact domination.

Is there a foreign object inserted to Mary?

Well if you are not a fan of Hellblazer the comics and rely on Biblical and primary source of accounts there is no physical intervention whatsoever.

Does God have any sexuality?

God is a pure spirit and does not need any sexuality or genitalia in that effect.

Is there consent?

Read the Canticle of Mary. Her consent was asked by the angel prior to her pregnancy thru the Holy Spirit. Heck, her consent is so important that she was honored with the highest veneration, higher than the greatest pope or the holiest of angels, because of it. Her free choice to carry Jesus in her womb is very important for the history of Salvation. If God forced himself to the human scene then it is a betrayal of God’s nature, if God betrayed his (sorry for the masculine use) nature then he is not God.

Again, yes she has freechoice to surrender her will to God’s plan.

And she just did that.

Again(a)there is no physical agent prior to the conception ,(b) God does not have any sexuality per se and it is vain to satisfy something that is not there,(c) that there is consent in the part of Mary, (d) that we also assume that God is benevolent to impregnate Mary in order to enter the human scene and in turn redeem us thru his ressurection.

Ergo a, b, c, and d are not really rape in any sense.

You know what by the mere fact that you are willing to sacrifice your lifestyle and by the fact that you know it is hard to be a parent but do it anyway and face your responsibilities to come are the mark of a highly matured individual. Quite commendable really.

Though I must contend on the financial part. Yes it is not substantially needed to be a good parent but it is needed to nurture the well-being of the family. A stable relationship between partners are quite a haven for children. That is why society develops and maintains the concept of marriage or long-term and honest relationship to ensure the well-being of individuals and offsprings.

Well nurture your child with love for truth and wisdom.

Good luck with your path.

No one says being a parent is easy but it is a travel that is worth having.