Re: Teen Moms (semi-vent)

I was 17 when my son was born.
He'll be 20 years old in July. It was a long road with a lot of support from my family in the early days but I have NO REGRETS. I decided not to become a statistic & continue to have children out of wedlock like most teen mothers do.
In fact I don't have any other biological children.
I never received one dime of child support & my son's "father" does not have any parental rights.
The deal my family made was I needed to finish high school-I graduted on the honor roll one year late. Go to college-I went to suffolk & started my career.
I have had at least one job(usually two) since I was sixteen years old.
I am a huge pro-choice supporter & another believer that kids need to have very specific sex information, not just one video in 5th grade. Its needs to be taught routinely all through puberty.

I do not think teen motherhood is a good choice for 99% of the girls that do it.
I started buying condoms for my son when he was fifteen. If he was going to have sex I wanted him to be prepared, I know damn well tellling him not to do it doesn't work.

Re: Teen Moms (semi-vent)

Some thoughts.

When I was growing up, we really didnt talk about sex ed much past the 5th grade film that so many people are familiar with. I venture to say that most of my friends didnt have the talk with their parents either. It was sort of taboo to talk about anything other than getting your period. In my house, when I got mine, my mother handed me the Kotex booklet with the pretty iris on it that said "What Every Woman Should Know", slapped me in the face and told me to be careful. (I think the face slapping was a warning as to what she would do to me if I got pregnant - she's old school).

My generation didnt have the "talks" with their parents, and there was not much in the way of teen pregnancy. Yes, I did grow up in privilege, but kids with privilege also have hormones and it wouldnt matter if their parents are still not talking.

Nowadays there is so much more in the way of sexuality out there for minors to be exposed to and consume so you would think that parents would be talking about it with their children simply because it is ALWAYS there in their faces.

Perhaps as parents, people do not want to think of their children as sexual beings and turn a blind eye. They lose their innocence too early. It is actually quite sad. I think about my first time at 17 and that is the only time in my life I regretted having sex. I wish I waited. I Was too young and stupid to enjoy how wonderful it could be.

Message edited 4/27/2007 11:52:34 PM.