Quote From: madison50Why are we trying so hard to prevent teen pregnancy, then turn around and say that most people are sympathetic to teen mothers? Teens are not ready to be mothers. If teens get married because of a pregnancy, it is much more likely that the marriage will end in divorce. If there is no marriage, then who does raise the baby? The teen? Only if they live on welfare. So, it would be daycare, or a grandparent, maybe a combination of supports if the the teen is lucky.
It is so unfair to an unborn child brought into this world with more challanges than the average, which are enough.
I would favor giving the baby up for adoption, if abortion was against the teen's beliefs, ( not the family beliefs) the one who must carry the child, and bear the responsibility. HER CHOICE!
What happens to education? Unless the family is well off, that child and that teen are really not given a fair playing field.
I don't look down on pregnant teens, I feel very sorry for them. Criticize is a harsh word, but don't we as parents, encourage our teens not to become pregnant? So in saying that, isn't it being critical of the situation, just not any individual? Don't get pregnant...use protection...all these things we tell our teens are critical by the fact that we put teen pregnancy into the negative. Why? Maybe because teen pregnancy is a negative.
Being a mother is hard. How does a teen have time to know if she is mother material when those of us who have much greater maturity have trouble in deciding? Very often, even with having a husband and planned pregnancy, children are very draining, and we stop after one or two because we know it is just not in us to have more.
Child abuse is higher amongst teen mothers. The maturity is not there. I hope that the stresses of motherhod are not undermined by Bristol Palin's teen pregnancy. It is not fashionable just because it was flaunted at the Republican Convention.
Being a mother is hard, and when the word selfish comes up, who could be more selfish as a mother as Sarah Palin? Her career took priority over her daughter's privacy. Mothers make sacrifices? Some do, some don't. Some get called lazy when they cave under a joyless life. Others get applauded when they forge ahead with their career at the expense of their child and grandchild. That unborn baby will have no doubts he or she was conceived out of wedlock, and neither will anyone who meets him or her.
We seem to be very selective in which mothers we judge and which mothers we call selfish.
I was called many things for stating my opinions that were honest. Even someone as "selfish" as myself, would not do that to either of my daughters. They would come first, as would my grandchild, and I would keep a low profile out of respect for the privacy of the innocents.
Maybe I am not such a selfish mother as some people think.
First of all we also try to teach our children not to drink and do drugs. We try to teach them good work habits, we try to teach them that they should wait until they are married or at least in a serious relationship before having sex and yes we teach them to protect themselves against diseases and pregnancy. We also teach them to brush their teeth and to wash their hands before eating and after using the restroom. Do teens always listen to this good advice? No, they don't. Even my children had to "prove me right" on a lot of the things I have taught over the years.
You talk about the babies being put in day care and watched by grandparents and I would like to know how that is different then the children of older married couples. I worked a lot of years as assistant director at a day care in town and I can tell you that being older and married doesn't always make the better parent. We had teen mothers who were wonderful and loving and we had older mothers who were either guilted into giving the child everything they wanted or were impatient with the kids when they were picking or dropping them off.
Sarah Palin is making a lot of sacrifices for her career, we all have to agree to that. One thing she does do for her family that a lot of high profiled women don't do is make sure she takes her children with her, she is the one who tucks them in at night, she is the one who is cooking for them when they are home, she is the one who is raising them even though it is in the spotlight. She doesn't have a nanny who keeps them back in Alaska while she is on the road, she deals with situations that comes up, including the teen pregnancy. She doesn't put her life on hold or act like her career is over because she is going to be a grandmother to a child who was conceived out of wedlock to her 17 year old daughter, that isn't a bad mother, it is a realistic one.
(Original Air Dare: 03/25/08) Motherhood isn't always about the good times, like baking brownies and having game night with the family. Dr. Phil talks to women who say they can’t cope with their children, and they’re running out of resources. Robyn adopted her 10-year-old daughter, Alyssa, six years ago from the Ukraine and says she actually has thoughts of sending the girl back. Robyn says that Alyssa hasn’t bonded with her and doesn’t know how to love anyone. She says her daughter screams, cries, yells and even threatened to kill herself! Robyn’s husband, Joe, can’t imagine living without his adoptive daughter and intends to stand by his commitment to the child. What's the real reason Robyn never bonded with Alyssa? Then, Cyndi says if she’d known her 12-year-old son, Alex, had autism and Down syndrome, she may not have brought him into the world. She says he hits himself, screams, grunts at the top of his lungs and wears two pairs of diapers at a time because he’s not potty trained. Her husband, Ulis, says he doesn’t find it difficult to care for Alex, but Cyndi says she’s exhausted and overwhelmed. Should the boy be institutionalized? Find out what Dr. Phil thinks. Plus, meet a mom with four kids who’s already left home twice. Now she’s scared she may leave again — this time for good. Talk about the show here.
