Why is teen pregnancy passed down through the generations, so to speak?

Question

"The daughters of teen parents are 22 per cent more likely to become teen mothers themselves..." -- everywhere

Why? I would've thought that if anybody would know how difficult it would be to have a kid when young, and if anybody would've had how to use birth control hammered into them, it'd be kids whose parents had them exceptionally young. But, apparently not.

What am I missing?

Answer 1

Why does everyone always blame the parents? Kids have minds and know what is right or wrong. Its funny to me how in the 50's-60's and the beginning of time women have been having babies at 11 and 12 and 15 and 16. What is so different about now then how it was? Yes we live longer then we did back then and that was the main reason they were married and had kids so earlier, but now we have more disease and more of a crazy population of people killing eachother. It is always difficult to have a child at any age! You're never prepared enough! So whether youre 12 or 52 having kids is an unpreparable feet.

Answer 2

I'm not sure I have a lot of answers on this one, but in my experience as a case manager, here's what I learned from dealing directly with teen parents and parents of teen's who were pregnant:

1) Nobody loves me: While it is possible that a teen that has loving, supportive parents and is involved in community/school activities can still find it necessary to engage in unprotected sex, it's not as common. Teenage moms have often experienced isolation, rejection by others, and difficulty adjusting to new circumstances (new town, new jobs, new step-parents, etc...). Often both parents of the teen work, and the direct parent-and-child contact can be very limited. A nice guy who pays attention, gives a shoulder to cry on, and who makes the teen feel special (and wanted) is fulfilling a need -- and if her needs are met, his needs may not be far behind.

2) Nobody cares -- A teenager goes through a lot of angst, and the children of teenage parents go through even more. Think about the ostracism and isolation that is expressed by peers (and sometimes by their own families) to a teen that is pregnant -- it doesn't necessarily stop with the birth of the child. If the teenager continues to attend the same school or live in the same community, it can be a gauntlet of fire on a daily basis. While there are more organizations that deal with teen pregnancies, they are few and far between. In fact, I can't think of ANY organization that is specifically geared towards the children of teen parents and how to break the cycle of teen pregnancy between generations.

3) Once I have a baby, things will work out:
For whatever reason, some teens think that having a child opens the door to a new life. Some teen moms think that by having a child, the father will become more committed to the relationship with the mother. Some think that the benefits that the federal government offers will offset the loss of personal freedom and education that can occur if the teen leaves school. Even more consider being a parent being a sign of being an adult...without recognizing that realizing the challenges faced by teen parents are even greater than thosed faced by adults.

4) It worked for my mom, it can work for me:
Sound familiar? "Do as I say, not as I do." Parent's sexual behaviors are not invisible...and their social mores get passed on as well.

Answer 3

Because people assume teens arent good mothers....my cousin had her daughter at 16 but her daughter is about 17 and has no kids.....but then again I know of a 19 year old grandmother....she ahd her kid at 9 and that baby had one at 10 and one of the girls at my school....her grandmother had her mother at 14 and the s mother had the girl who goes to my school at 16...it depends on how the teen mother raises her child

Answer 4

Because they feel they can't tell them what not to do in that case.

I mean ... they did it themselves.

Other than that, yeah, I see it. In some families, having children young is just 'the norm'. I was born when my father was 21. I'm trying to have my first child now, also at age 21. My cousin got married and had her first at 20. That's just the age we grew up with, and it's normal for us. We're not poor or lower-class either. It's a 'tradition', I guess.

In some cases it's to do with resources. Sometimes teen moms don't finish school and end up with little in the way of money, even once their kids are older. How are they supposed to get birth control? That stuff DOES cost money. Yeah, some of them stay on Medicaid forever and whatnot, but most don't. If you barely miss the Medicaid cutoff and are struggling to feed three kids, what gets cut? Doctor visits. My fiance's family was at that level most of his life. He had so much dental work for us to pay for it wasn't even funny. His mom had to choose: dentist or food? She picked food. His sister wanted on birth control for a long time, too, but it wasn't possible. They didn't make the Medicaid cutoff, but couldn't afford private insurance or even the payment at a clinic. So it didn't happen. Luckily she didn't end up pregnant then, but I see how it could happen.

Answer 5

IMO (this may sound offensive) teen mothers (not all) do not raise their children well, they cannot afford good homes so they end up in a bad area with bad influences around. This then leads to the child growing up thinking this is normal and a good way to live your life, they make the same mistakes as their parent. Sometimes the kids think well my mum had me as a teen and shes fine and im fine, not knowing theres a better world out there than just getting by ever month or surviving on benefits.

Answer 6

I'm not sure, but personally I've broken the chain. It goes back at least 3 generations in my family. I'm now 27 and childless.
What I do know is that parents usually try to protect their kids from the harsh realities of single parenthood, so the kids grow up with a rose-tinted view of things.
I also know that in my town there is nothing for the kids to do other than get up to no good. There is one youth club, but no self-respecting teenager would be seen dead there. There's always Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, but they're only for goody-two-shoes and any self-respecting teenager would go to the youth club first. So they drink, fight, steal cars, take drugs, have sex, get pregnant, etc. When my town was built they didn't want it to be just a commuter town, so they built shops and a couple of factories. So now, unless we go and live/work in the City, our career prospects consist of shop work and factory work. Big wow, choice of working in Sainsbury's (supermarket) or Clinton Cards' factory. If you get to work in the Bank of England printing works you've reached the top of the pile. No wonder the kids get up to no good.

Answer 7

I'm no expert, but I would expect that it's because the young mothers are not necesarily the best teachers. If the children don't get the guidance required from their parents, they will likely make the same mistakes. I mean, a 15 year old girl just isn't going to make the best mother.

Answer 8

It is a little perplexing, isn't it? If someone has a baby as a teenager and decides to keep it, that person is likely to be a single mom with a very low education and socioeconomic status. If, say, you were to grow up in a fatherless household with no money, you would probably be involved in sketchy activities like drugs, skipping school or not graduating at all, and sex, which would lead to a teen pregnancy.

Answer 9

Children learn by example, and parents teach by personal experience.

The mothers might regret having children so young, and might want their daughters to avoid it, but they lack the ability to teach them how to avoid it, since they dont reconize certain behaviors and traits as things that lead later to unplanned pregnancies.

If they dont reconize that things like, unsupervised daughters, or, dressing inappropriately can lead to sexual activities, how can they protect their daughters from the same things they failed in?

They cant.

Answer 10

wow thanks for the slander....Its funny how you all seem to think teen mothers are bad.Just a little word in...i had my son at 16 got a job and finished school .next time judge wisely.and dont worry i reported most of you...teen pregnancy is not passed down..its the guidance and morals that we pass down as parents.
there are some crappy *** ones but what about the ones that take on there responsibility?and succeed