Anyone watch this last night on MTV. What are your thoughts? Mine?! Well I think its a bad idea to concieve before age 21,maybe 25 even. Teenagers should be focused on being teenagers. Its ok to be selfish and self centered as a teen. Most teens are that way, so they typically dont make good parents, at least initially.
This show proved my point, Either the mom or the dad(and in some cases both) we not mentally mature enough to be parents. I pray for those kids. They did not like having to take on the FULL responsibility of raising a child. Everyone regretted the decision to have a child so soon.
If you are a teen parent, I hope I didn't offend. Its just that the role of a parent is a hard role to fill. Some adults don't even get it right. But I feel its much harder for a child to step into this position when they themselves have not fully matured. Just my thoughts.
Re: 16 and Pregnant
I'm not advocating for teen pregnancy, but I know plenty of 25 year olds that are incredibly immature. I'm not saying the girls on 16 and Pregnant were ready to have children. I just think that they're naive, and had very unrealistic expectations. (Like Jenelle saying that she pictured the future with her son as being one that involved parks and beaches, and him sleeping through the night. She didn't think of the hard work in between)
As for Nikkole.... yeah, that was the worst episode I've ever seen. She was naive a bit, yes, but her baby's father was just.... UGH. Rendered DH and I speechless, that's for sure.
I second this. I am 22 and well educated and know what I'm getting into. I'm mature and my dh and I have a secure home and he has a secure job. i know a lot of 30 yr olds who don't have this or if they do they are still "not the brightest crayon in the box." I agree that MOST teens shouldn't think about being parents, but I also know a lot of young people, some younder than me, that are great parents. And like I previously mentioned, some people a lot older than me who suck as parents... age is not relative to maturity...
I agree that age is a number. It's all about maturity. I wasn't a teen parent, but I know at 16 I would've had it together a lot better than some people who have kids over the age of 21, although I definitly wouldn't have put myself in that position. Nikkole's bf was awful and I felt so bad for her mom. Could you imagine your daughter being in labor and having someone treat her like that? I would've lost it way before she did!
Sorry, but when did 20+ year olds get back into being teenagers? Let me just get this straight: Even though I worked my butt off in high-school while going to college part-time as well, now graduating with my bachelors much earlier than most people my age, and married to a wonderful Marine, you think we should not be having our baby? If you're going to comment on 16 & pregnant, no problem, but please don't disrespect women on here who are fully capable and ready to have children by saying we lack maturity and responsibility.
::MyBlog::
LOL@ anyone under 25 being frowned upon for TTC. Self rightous much? I'm a kickass mom and TTC my first at 20 and my second at 22.
However, I do not in the least bit condone anyone who does not have a stable, secure household ttc. And I think TTC before out of highschool is moronic. I saw what happened to my younger sisters when they had children without being stable... it's not pretty. However, I believe that teens tend to have a "It's not going to happen to me" additude when it comes to sex and babies. Nikkole at least seems to be dealing with it ok even if her boyfriend is a dutchbag. Jenelle should just hand the kid over to her mom and admitt she has no business even trying to raise that little baby. As Rhett Buttler said "A cat's a better mother".
Yes, the people on 16 and Pregnant are ridiculous, but I know people who had children at 16 who are wonderful mothers. I will be 21 when my baby is born, and it was completely unplanned and it looks like I will be raising this child on my own. It's not an ideal situation, and certainly not a situation I ever thought I'd be in. Because of where I am in life (which is not directly related to my age, it's because I've taken a lot of time off from school to travel extensively, so I still have a little less than 3 years left of college), I will be living with my mother for at least a few months after the baby is born. She will be helping out financially for the next few years, which she would have been doing for me even if I hadn't gotten pregnant. I am very blessed to have such a supportive family who is also happy to help me out in any way that they can, but living with my mother and having my family help me financially is not something that is exclusive to young mothers. My mother, after being married for 10 years and having me at the age of 31, left my father, was in a terrible financial situation, moved back in with my grandparents, and worked very hard to become financially independent again. I certainly don't think any less of my mother just because she accepted her parents support when she was having a tough time.
I am only 20 years old. I am not in a relationship with my child's father, or with anyone for that matter. I have not graduated from college. I have never been completely financially independent. But I have more life experience, I have come through more difficult situations, and I have more experience with children, than MANY women in their late 20s. Emotionally and mentally, I am just as mature, responsible, and ready for a child as most anyone. Financially, I am not. But regardless of age, or honestly, education, an inability to be financially independent can hit anyone. I am working as hard as I can to finish my degree and be able to support myself and my child without help from anyone.
I fail to see how this makes me less of a parent than someone who happens to be 25.
I am a young mom at 19, but I agree that at 16 I was no where near ready to raise a child, and I think alot of developing occurs between 15/16-20's so its hard to say who can be ready at an any age, but it seems that times are changing and who's to say that all teens can't be ready for a child? I'm pretty sure they pick the most dramatic people to put on the show because, who would want to watch a show about a bunch of sensible teenagers who understand life and morals, that would just make the audience watching look like bad parents...
I think the show is for entertainment purposes and in no way really reflects upon teen moms in reality, maybe its just a US thing since I am from canada, but I know PLENTY of teen moms here who are better parents than most adults because they can more easily relate to there son/daughter than someone of an older age might be able to
Not helping the situation.
I think the show serves to put a face to teen pregnancy that a lot of girls/teens don't see every day. Yes, these girls may be the extreme, but I think Maci and Catelynn on Teen Mom exemplify how you can be a good Teen Mom. Yet their situations still show how hard it is to really find that balance between being young and being a mother.
I don't envy any of them.
All that said, wow, was that boy a d-bag!!! I have never, ever seen such a blazing example of mental abuse/manipulation. I think Nikkole was definitely naive and fell prey to his manipulation, but if my daughter ever brings home a boy like him, we're moving.
Oh for the love of God please be a troll or AE.
Bar tab = $156,000, Bus to Foxwoods = $0, Puking in the Stanley Cup = Priceless
Bwahahahahahaha
I agree, it all depends on the person and how mature they are, not their age. I was 20 when I conceived. Does that mean I'm too immature to be having a child? I think it's wrong to say that an entire age group shouldn't have child because some people in that age group are immature. Not all of us are.
Please step away from the computer or make use of the CAPS LOCK BUTTON...NOW....Thanks....
First of all let me just say, I do believe that there are some people that are younger than 21 that are fully capable and mentally stable enough to raise children, but I'm not referring to that small percentage. Some of you may have had ideal situations early on, but that is definitely not the majority of young teens and adults. Majority of young teens are not suited to be parents because of their level of immaturity. I can assure that the number of immature teens outweigh the number of immature adults. I'm not saying that there are not immature adults, I'm simply saying that if things were backwards and more people were having kids on the teens instead of later on in their 20's and 30's, we'd be in trouble.
My feelings towards this is not because of this show, but because of personal experiences that I have. My mom is an exception. She was 18 when she had my sister and I think I had the best mom in the world. She definitely stepped up to the plate at an early age and did what she had to do. However, I've seen enough young mother(my sisters, cousins, nieces, and friends) to know that having kids at that tender age when you are still trying to find out about yourself is not a good idea. My own teen-aged mother says so herself.
So to you exceptions to the rule, I applaud you all. But please understand that you are in the minority!