why do people frown so bad at young/ teenage pregnancies?

Answer 1

because teens aren't old enough to realize how much theyre going to miss out on. I'm only 21, and I look at some of my friends from HS, and its crazy how much changes for me, yet nothing does for them...

also, i think teens under-estimate the responsibility involved. and i mean REALLY under-estimate it.

a baby is a lot to take on. and teens still have a lot of life to live, and a lot of fun that they'll miss out on with that kind of responsibility.


the best answer on lindsey's link (above me) is really good. i dont think teens are incapable. and i think if you do get pregnant young, its very mature of you to have it, and get married and really commit to that lifestyle. i admire that

its just that a lot of teens aren't ready to give up thier lives. when you have a baby you become some one else entirely. its not about you anymore. being a teen is the only time in your life when you get to live with your parents and not pay bills, be free to go out and party and just have fun wiith friends. that all stops with kids. you dont have the freedom that teens have, and you really miss out on the best part of life.

but, i do know some girls are capable of being good parents at a young age. but they make a sacrifice to do it. im sure they'd tell you that it was worth it, though.

more power to them, to be mature and responsible. its not easy, and its not something i encourage.... but its not something im going to condone a person for

Answer 2

I think it is that there are unfortunately some young / teenage mums out there, who show the rest of the world that it is a bad thing for them to have children.
I recently overheard teenage mum with a small baby in a pushchair tell her friend that the "baby is only useful to take shopping, because of the stuff you can hide in the pushchair and go on the rob" Does that sound like a responsible reason to have a child? It doesn't to me.
I also know of a girl who was 16 who gave birth and then spent most of her time trying to give the baby to any one, and i mean anyone so she could go out with her mates, and when her parents told her they wouldn't do it she left the baby!!!!
T.v programmes like Jeremy Kyle and Trisha in the Uk, and i suppose Rikki Lake and Dr Phil in the States do not show the good side of teenage pregnancies. Children having children isn't a good idea, they should get some life experience first.
Also, i am a new mom, and it is bloody hard work having a baby, so when you are a teenager or quite young - go out and enjoy yourself, meet people, have FUN.
I am not saying that all teenage moms are not good, it is just the bad ones that get all the press and they are who other people make judgements from.

Answer 3

Because they are thinking of stereotypes and not individuals. And because it is very hard to bring up a child, many sacrifices have to be made and perhaps people think that teenagers are less likely to make those sacrifices. They probably believe that teenage parents are also less likely to be able to financially cope with raising a child. However being a young parent can have advantages, more energy, is one, and if the teenager has a solid family network that will provide support and backing then all the better, if the teenager is in a stable relationship better still.
Children need feeding, cleaning, clothing, educating, they need a home, love and understanding, they also need discipline until they have learnt self discipline, there are probably many more things that I have missed, but I believe that they can be provided by parents of any age, though I can understand why people would believe that they would be less likely to be provided by teenage parents.
If I was an unborn child, I would prefer to be born to teenage parents that I knew would be there for me until maturity than to parents in their fifties and sixties (which is now possible and has in fact happened) that might no longer be around when I needed them most.

Answer 4

because the idea of 'normal' families is still important to a lot of people. This idea is that two people meet, neither have been married before, neither have children. then will then court for two or three years, then marry, then buy a house, then plan children.

The problem with this model is that it is quite outdated now. it is not a bad thing that society has changed, it is all part of an ongoing process.

young mums are often frowned upon due to the problematisation of youth (young people being labelled as problems so often living up to it) We all need to accept everyone for who they are. if they have a child young then that is their choice. we can help protect those who are vulnerable (thus why the age of consent is important) but we cannot make life choices for people. maybe if society made an effort to look after one another then attitudes may change.

Answer 5

Because how is a young person that hasn't even got it's national insurance number going to support a child?
People need to have there teenage years. I see friends friends that have had kids young and now the children are at school they try and live the teenage years they missed out on and then not setting a good example to there children, more than likely kids follow in there footsteps and go off the rails.

Answer 6

I myself had a teenage pregnancy and I am now 34 and one of the people who frown on teenage pregnancies ! I know from experience, that having a baby in your teens, is detrimental to your enjoyment of life. Trouble is, when you are a teenager you think you know best and no one can tell you anything !Teenage years are so precious and the early twenties really.Young girls should be out having fun,building careers having a LIFE not stuck indoors changing nappies and cleaning up baby sick . I have three daughters now and I want them to just enjoy their lives without the responsibility of a baby at least not until they are mid to late twenties and hopefully financially and emotionally ready for one.

Answer 7

I think one of the reasons is people are expected to be independent these days rather than interdependent on each other. There'a lot of criticism above based on the premise that young mums aren't in a posotion to look after themselves and their child. But biologically the ideal age is betwen 16 and 24, which is perfect providing there are older adults around to help, like extended families. Now we are all supposed to live in isolated independent units split apart from our elders and those who could support young mums. So we have exhausted, isolated women bringing up kids own thier own and working and old people's homes full of experienced wise women going mad with boredom and nothing to do. It's ludicrous!
Also, feminists have argued women should go out and have careers and they've been so sucessful at this that hordes of them have forgotten to have children and get to forty and are filled with panic and regret; thus proving that that model of feminism is a dysfunctional meme (idea) and should soon go extinct becasue there will be no kids to pass it on to.
Having kids in your later teens is absolutely human and natural, it's been that way for 250,000 years and those who don't support it are just being selfish because they don't want to join in and help. Either that or they are being political, and the body and its reproductive urges isn't a political thing. To impose politics on it is a travesty.

Answer 8

I was 18 when I had my son and well, honestly I wouldn't have it any other way. My husband (b/f at the time) and I used condoms and I was on and off of birth control (off because of problems) and one time the condom broke and nine months later we welcomed my son into the world. Some teens are way too immature and irresponsible to handle children or to even be having sex. I don't feel that I was one of those teens though. I got pregnant at 17 but I graduated high school early, went to college, graduated in four years, got married, maintained a healthy social life, took great care of my son (and still am) and so much more. It can be done and most people don't think it can. They think all teens are reckless and stupid..and well, they aren't, not all of them anyways. People also don't understand and are cynical. They are quick to assume and judge people and they don't like things that they themselves haven't experiances. I think these people need to keep their opinions to themselves because they truly don't know or they judge the entire teenage mother/father population on one or two cases they've seen.

Answer 9

Because generally they know that bringing up a child is a very hard task regardless of age and to see a young teenager pregnant can be quite tragic to see. They have had no life of their own or experienced different things and you need to grow yourself and have some fun before settling down with a child that is a great responsibility, very stressful and hard work. In today's society there is no possible reason for a teenager to fall pregnant with all the different types of contraception available to them. And if they are old enough to have a sexual relaionship then they are old enough to take resposibility in proctecting themselves.

Answer 10

I asked this same question a few days ago. I am a teen mum i had my first child at 15 and i have just had twins at 19 and I'm still with the father. But people think its an excuse to receive benefits and a house from the council but there wrong!! some people are just too stuck up and jealous...
They put there career first and then when it comes to having children, when they are about 40 its too late... What kind off life is that, having kids at 40 you see them for their first 15 yrs off there life and your dead!! Having my children so young i will live too see my grandchildren and great grandchildren!!!

Answer 11

Parenting takes a lot - a lot of responsibility, patience, wisdom, and more patience. It's not impossible for younger people to possess all the right qualities, but they can never (purely because of their age) have as much life-experience and wisdom as older parents. Just think of all the things your parents taught you - or perhaps didn't teach you - not just answering homework questions, but real life stuff too.

Anyway, why would anyone want to waste the remainder of their own childhood/teenage years looking after someone else? It's the only time in your life when you get to be truly selfish and do your own thing - and so discover things about yourself.