Why do people look down on teenage parents?

Answer 1

Because most aren't truly ready for the challenges of having a baby. I was a teen mom, 16. There are a lot of teen moms that I knew who's mental state got stuck wherever they were when they had their baby. I know a woman who's 30, has 4 kids now and still thinks that her life should be about going out and drinking in a bar. SHe's not truly serious about giving her kids the best mom she can be. It's sad.

People also have the idea that you're easy. That's not always true, but people think it. They also assume it means you're irresponsible in every way, again not neccesarily true. I understand the struggles of being a young mom and give the women who go for it a lot of credit but definitely not the ones who get pregnant intentionally. NOT A GOOD CHOICE!

Answer 2

Because a lot of teenage parents have had babies for the wrong reasons, but with saying that, I was 19 when I fell pregnant with my first and my husband was only 17! No we weren't married but that didn't matter. It doesn't take a piece of paper to prove two people are committed to each other, in the same way that age doesn't make a difference to everyones mentality. Different people develop faster mentally than others do. You may find a 17 yr old who's mentally in their 30's or a 30 yr old who's mentally only early 20's. You shouldn't have to be stereotyped, society needs to be more open minded. Look back when our grandparents had our parents, many of them were married and parents by the time they were 21! I think society needs to remember that and judge each parent different. Some of us are ready for parenthood and embrace it, not all of us are irresponsible.

Answer 3

People often look down on teenage parents because more often than not the teenagers give people a reason to look down on them. You have so many teenage parents whose priorities are so out of whack. Instead of taking care of the baby, they are more concerned about if they will have a babysitter to go to a party or hang out with friends. As a teenage parent, you no longer have that choice and you see too many out there putting their baby off on someone so they can do what they want. I know from experience because I am one of the few teenage parents out there that take sole care of my child. It is the other 90% of teenage moms out there that make the 10% good ones get looked down on.

Answer 4

I think it's just because they can. I was pregnant at 19 and had my son a couple of months after I turned 20. I was not some dumb teenager. I was in college full-time, working two-jobs,and had my own apartment. I didn't drop out of school and "ruin my life" because of the baby. My mother was disappointe but her support was still there. I didn't put the baby on my mom either. My son went to daycare while I worked and went to school. My son is 6 now and I still have my own place, I'm still in school, and I still work. All teenage parents are not the same and shouldn't be viewed that way. I am also currenly working on my Master's Degree in Nursing. Everyone told me that I was stupid and I messed up my life. But my life is better than most of theirs.

Answer 5

because teenagers are seen as irresponsible and incapable of taking care of such a great responsiblity. this doesn't mean that all of them are like this though. there are a few good teenage parents. teenagers have been given the label of irresponsible because most teenagers get into all kinds of things they shouldn't be doing like drugs and alcohol. teenagers are seen as incapable because of the fact that they are still really young and haven't had the chance to get the experience that they need to get a good paying job like going to college or a trade school meaning that they have to work for minimum wage or slightly above. it is very hard to raise a kid on these wages if not impossible. this is why people tend to look down on teenage parents. like i said, not all teenage parents are this way but a few bad apples tend to ruin it for everyone. hope this helps. good luck.

Answer 6

I would say because most usually the child gets pregnant and then has messed up their lives. I mean its hard on the teenager to then go to school, support themselves along with their baby, or even just working and raising a child.
You learn so many lessons growing up in life and if you are 14 with a baby you don't have a chance to learn all that you can learn before you have enough knowledge to raise your own child.
I myself even feel, sometimes depending on the situation, that once you get married its a good idea to make sure that you have your finances in place, your relationship with your husband/wife is strong so you can decide on hard situations together, and that you are ready to give up your whole life for a child. Because from the time you have the child to about college you have a big expensive responsibility.

Average cost to raise a child: $190,528.00

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/raiseChild.asp

Answer 7

It's not them personally it's usally what happens to their lives, their grandparents lives and the babies lives that make people look down on them. I know tooooooooo many teens who have babies, drop out of school and have their parents raise the baby so they can continue running around with their friends/boyfriend(s). It's not fair to the childs GRANDparent, or to the child themself. The parent(s) also have very little chance of ever really making any real money without even finishing high school so they live off of welfare and foodstamps too but also somehow find the $$ they need to smoke and party. Does that sound like responsible behavior to you? Not to me-and I see it all the time where I work and from knowing teens in my personal life who have done exactly what I just explained.

Answer 8

Because people naturally assume that just because you're young, you don't know anything because you don't have the years or experience. But there are older parents who are just as if not more immature than most teenagers. I know personally, that I would have made a far better parent at 13 than I ever will at 33. I was stronger, wiser, more confident, and had far more life experience than any adult i knew than, or have come across since. It is harder because you are dependent on others for support and services til you hit 18. But all you have to do is love your child and have patience with them, and that is the same whether you are under 18 or over.

Answer 9

Its not that people look down on teenage parents its that alot of people think that if you think youre old enough to have sex you should also be SMART enough to know how to avoid a pregnancy; now if you know how to avoid a pregnancy and still went ahead with it youre not very sharp.

Answer 10

Teenage parents are NOT responsible and aren't grown yet. They tend to be impulsive as well. Not all teenage parents are immature and lacking in ability to raise children, but most are.