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This is not intended to offend anyone, merely a way for me to give my opinion and advice on the situation. I will be directing the teen mothers I talk to, to come and read what is written:
I have been overwhelmed by the amount of girls in the
past month who are under 18 who have said to me that they intend on becoming mothers, and are currently trying to become mothers. I dont think they fully understand how difficult it is to be a teenage mother, or a mother of any age for that matter. If your 14 or 44 being a mother is still a hard task and the hardest job you will ever do in your life.
The thing which got to me was a girl (aged 15) who mentioned she wanted to fall pregnant and have a child to avoid having to go to university after school. I found this to be a very immature thing to decide, and the reasons behind becoming a teen mother where ridiculous as you don't HAVE to go to university at all, that's a personal choice.
These girls dont seem to understand what they are giving up, and what they will be gaining by becoming a mother, and the financial side of things is going to be very hard on them.
I have constructed a list of things that teenagers should consider before deciding to make a child before they are 18.
Things You WILL Give Up:
- forget going to parties
- forget hanging out with your friends just because you want to
- no late nights
- alcohol/drugs experimental stage
- you wont have anything in common with a lot of girls your age anymore because they don't have to worry about their baby at home
Things you will gain:
- you will gain complete independance from something for the next 18 years (possibly more) of your life
- you gain the responsibility to financially provide for this child
- the cost of raising a child, school fees, clothing, toys, entertainment, birthday parties
Financial costs:
this one I have taken the liberty of constructing a list of the expenses I have monthly for my 6 month old son to put it into perspective for those out there:
- $40 on nappies
- $90 on formula
- $10 on wipes and lotions
- $30 on baby custards
- $50 on baby food
- $50 on baby clothing
then you have to remember you may have extra costs including medical, Emergancies, baby sitting or day care, transport costs.
I think that these girls just needed to have a think, and hopefully this helps some of those girls out there who are considering having a child. Im not trying to convince you not to do it - im trying to make sure you understand what your going to be doing with your life and make sure you think about how your going to support your child.
You also should think about what you plan on doing for an income as a parent, or if your going to study, or if you plan on living on government support which really doesnt help the ideals of a "teen mum" as we are all being bagged out for being teen mums cos a handful of them are giving the rest a bad name.
(January 2009) (
