It has
been proven that if you are a teen parent you are much less likely to graduate
from high school, or get any type of college degree. The reason for this is
because you become a parent in the middle of your education, you are unable to
go to all of your classes and have to take a substantial amount of time off of
school to be a mother and care for your new born baby. With the amount of time
that you have to miss it is very difficult to catch back up in your classes in
order to get grades that will allow you to pass high school. With all of these
problem a lot of teens take the easiest way out and choose to drop out of high
school, and not try again to get there diplomas.
When
becoming a parent at such a young age you are more likely to be or remain a
single parent. By the time most teen parents have their babies they are not
married, a lot of times the baby dad decides that the situation is to difficult
for him to cope with and leaves the teen mom. This happens in many cases. A lot
of teen parents score lower in math and reading. I think the reason for this is
because they did not have the chance to complete high school, or get any type
of college education.
Two-thirds
of teen pregnancies occur between ages 18-19. This is an age where teenagers
are easily persuaded, and not exactly sure what they want to do in life. Some
teenagers this age may feel they are ready to have a baby and have what it
takes to be a parent. I think a pro of having a baby at this young age is you
would have a lot of energy to take and raise a child. As your child gets older,
you may be able to relate more with their problems and what is happening in
their lives because you are closer to their age. A con of having a baby at such
a young age would be you are not experienced enough to know how to make the
right decisions to guide your child in the correct direction. You may not have
the money. You will not have the opportunity to live for yourself, once you
have a baby you have to completely focus your child, your entire life for the
next 18 years will revolve around your kid. You will miss out on your life.
Close
to 25% of teen mothers have a second child within two years of their first child.
Maybe they choose not take birth control, or possibly they enjoyed having a
child and wanted another. The United State spends $7 billion each year due to
the costs of teen pregnancy. Teen parents do not have the money to pay for
hospital bills, and all of the food and supplies they will need to have a baby.
80% on unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare. My guess would be they just
simply do not have money to support themselves and their child. It’s hard for
any person to do this, especially a young teenager, I personally could not
imagine. Teenagers have had fewer babies in 2012 than in any year since the mid
1990s. I believe this is because birth control is so much easier to get today.
They have clinics even free clinics all over to help teens and adults get birth
control they need. Plus children are educated from a very young age, even
through school.
Being a
teen parent comes with both its pros and cons; for sure it will be a life
changing experience. I have a close friend that became a teen parent, if was
very difficult for her, she was not excited about it, she thought her life was
over. She was very stressed out and overwhelmed, and wasn’t sure how she was
going to make it. She was sure her boyfriend would not stay with her through
the situation, because they had not been together for a longtime prior to the
situation. In the end she had a beautiful baby that she is so in love with, it
was very hard for her, and she had to change so much in her life, but she now
feels like without her baby she would not be complete. Her life would not be
whole without her baby in it. She doesn’t have a lot of money, she works full
time, her baby is babysat by her mom during the day time, she is trying to go
to college, and her boyfriend did end up leaving her. She says she loves her
life, and it was all worth it, and cannot wait to watch her baby learn and grow
more than she already has.
Some websites that are very helpful:
