Do you think there should be an age limit on when you are allowed to have children?

Question

There are sooo many babies having babies now days and Im just wanting everyones opinion on if they think there should be an age limit....for instance 18 is considered an adult I would think that should be the age at least to have children....im seing 14 year olds having babies now...and I feel it is very sad.

For extras I just want opinions on how you feel about the idea ...not on if you think I should worry about myself or not because I already do. But, im also worrying about these babies that are being neglected and mistreated because the mothers are too young to take care of them...so if you have something negative to say about my opinion,..then thats great...but think about what I am saying first

Thank you all for all your answers it will be hard to choose a best. I agree with all of you who say it is from the parents who educate them. I also feel it should be mandatory to have sex ed classes and be more education for children regarding these issues!

Answer 1

I agree with you, there are alot of teenagers having babies these days. First and foremost, the parents of these teenagers need to communicate better and be more active with their children. Show them the good and the bad consiquences of their actions. Then the parents of these teenagers need to start talking with the local legistlatures and Board of Education about adding elective courses to school ciriculum. There are some uptight parents out there who dont want to talk about alternatives to abstance such as birth control, the morning after pill, condoms (of all kinds) and God forbid.. abortion. Most of the other parents obviously dont care. I dont think you can set an age limit for when a woman (girl) can physically start conceiving babies so it's up to us (parents) to teach them about the responsibilities and consiquences of having intercourse and we HAVE to do it at an EARLY AGE.Some might say "It's awful that we should have to steal our childrens innocence by telling them about (dirty ol') sex." But really, as a human being we explore our own bodies at a very young age. It's nature. So get over it and start speaking up to your kids.

Answer 2

I agree that it is sad to see so many "babies having babies". It would be wonderful if there were an age limit on having children; however, that will never happen, and I don't think it should. This is because I don't feel there is an age limit on being a good parent.

I was a straight-A student who never did wrong, and I got pregnant at 18, entirely too young. It was not the fault of my parents and my upbringing, like some have suggested on this thread, but myself and my fiance. I had a wonderful upbringing and simply decided it was time to start sleeping with my fiance. My fiance and I have worked our tails off to provide for our daughter and give her the life she deserves, and she has never gone without. We have steady jobs and college degrees. We have had a place of our own since before she was born. Our families are close-knit and have supported us every step of the way. That's one thing that made raising our daughter so much easier.

Also, I have a good friend who had her babies at 14, 17 and 22, and she is now a nurse while her husband (who is the father of all three kids) makes a hefty salary as chief firefighter. Obviously that was no easy task. They are great parents. Their children have always been loved and well taken care of. I can't say that for a lot of 25, 30 or even 40 year-old mothers I have seen - all of whom were accepted because they had their babies at the "right age."

There are some of us young mothers who are always willing to make sacrafices for our kids, probably more than most people think. Remeber that while "babies having babies" is an unfortunate trend, there are exceptions to every rule.

Answer 3

Well biologically, 14 is the age where 'women' are supposed to start having children. It's an evolutionary thing that isn't going to change just because society prevents children from growing up when they should. I'm not saying it's normal for a 14 year old to have children, it's certainly not anymore, but that's because of social issues.

'Age limits' don't do anything. You can't drink until 21 and that means absolutely nothing. And personally I find it partly amusing, partly irritating, that nobody bothers to look at it from the opposite end of the spectrum. Virtually everyone would find it disgusting that a 14 year old girl has a child, but if I were to say the same thing about a 60 year old having one, I'd probably be lambasted. The reality is both are irresponsible. Yes, you might assume a 60 year old is more stable, but she's also likely to die before the child graduates college. How selfish is this? Someone who has children simply because they 'miss having a baby around' or 'I'm finally settled down.' There comes a point where it's too late for that. The problem is stupid, irresponsible people having children, the age is a peripheral issue. There should be laws determining WHO can have children, not 'ages.'

And yes, plenty of you will complain 'how are you supposed to decide that?' The same way you determine that someone can drive, or become a doctor or lawyer or professor, etc. Testing. Educational testing, standardized testing, and perhaps most importantly, psychological evaluations. Laugh or dismiss it if you like, but it would solve numerous problems in society today.

Answer 4

No...because the government has no right to interfere w/ the personal lives of Americans. Even though we do have some sort of epidemic of teenagers getting pregnant it's not the governments job to do anything really...it's the parents of those children. Like the other person who answered...how would we enforce that? You can't. there is no way you can enforce it. Have BC more available...get Sex education more in schools (for the bonehead parents out there who don't talk about it w/ their kids). There shouldn't be a law saying that only people over 18 are allowed to have kids. I'm sorry but that's not a democracy. People in the United States have certain rights that can't be taking away from them. If they somehow passed that law what's next? We can only have so many children? If you give the government that power to make a certain age limit to have children than you might as well give away all your reproductive rights and have the government choose to decide when is best for you to have children.

Answer 5

Maybe not an age limit, since there are mothers in their 30s who shouldn't be having children, but there should be some kind of mental evaluation, something that measures maturity, responsibility, financial stability, etc. There are so many wonderful, loving couples who would do anything to have a baby, and who could provide wonderful homes, but for whatever reason, cannot conceive. Yet on the other hand, you have young, immature girls, crack heads, abusive personalities, who just continue to reproduce and not provide anything stable for their children.
Unfortunately, there is no way to stop it. I guess the first step is to stop "accepting" the fact that children are having sex. I used to manage a restaurant which employed a lot of 16 and 17 year olds who were always drinking and partying and having sex in their free time. It killed me to see these young boys and girls not realizing the consequences. It is the responsibility of all adults to educate these young kids about parenting, as well as STDs. It kills me that so many parents are adamantly against sex education in schools. Whether they want to admit it or not, teens will have sex and someone needs to give them information before its too late.

Answer 6

No i do not think there should be an age limit on having babies (plus that would be completely unrealistic anyways). Yes it may be sad about 13, 14 year olds having babies, but I think everyone (no matter there age) should be allowed to have a child if they want too. I have a good friend who had her first child at 16.5 years old and she's a great mother, and her husband is a great father (he was 17.5, when there first son was born). They are 19 and 20 now and have 4 kids. Also how would you go about preventing teens from having kids? To me there would be no good way of doing it.

Answer 7

Unfortunately this is a matter of moral upbringing. It isn't the fault of the children having children. It is the parents of the children having children. Too often, parents want to blame society, teachers or someone else for their lack of moral fortitude in bringing up their own kids. You can't wait until a person is 14, 15, 16 or older to start instilling the ideas of right and wrong. This has to be done at a much younger age. I am not one to advocate child abuse but I do believe that if you "spare the rod, you spoil the child". This old adage is not about child abuse. It is about providing an appropriately negative consequence to a negative behavior. Parents that are more worried about their kids liking them do not provide this consequence and subsequently do not instill the self discipline necessary to keep children from becoming parents themselves at too early of an age. If a parent can learn to do this and do it early, by the time children are 9-10 and older, you don't need to use your consequences as often, you only need the threat of the consequence. If they don't know the consequences until this time then the threat or use doesn't matter. Spank your todler at 2 for acting up and at 10 they will be much less likely to do it.

You can make all the laws you want but this only encourages moral relativism. The age of consent in most states is already16-17 years of age. Then you make a law that allows people in a "dating relationship" to have sex at a younger age. So what is the original law for. What it boils down to is teach your sons and daughters that there are consequences to your actions and begin at a young age.

Answer 8

I think anyone below age 20 has no business having children and that some needs to go through a class and application process before having kids!!!!!!! Now true some 18 year olds are more mature than 40 year olds, but at 18 not many people are financially even close to considering kids. I think being financially secure (meaning your bills are paid and you can afford the cost of living) is sign of being somewhat ready. There also has to be an amount of maturity. Some people only see kids as a source of tax breaks and government money. Those people do not need kids. Party girls, druggies and girls who sleep around and are bums that don't work do not need kids. Raising a child takes two loving parents, a mom and a dad, who will stay together through all things and love each other and their kids and give them the necessities of life.

Answer 9

Not possible, not enforceable. Better approach is factual sex ed and easy easy access to contraception. Some cities are passing it out New York is one pushing condom use and have city condoms availabe all over. Teens are human beings and humans are sexual be nature been that way since the beginning of man. One of the most well known and very widley ignored age limit is the 21yr old drinking age, age limits do not work, it's human nature to resist others telling them what they can and can not do. Accept the fact young people have sex, drink before 21 and look at ways to educate and get them to use protection or drink in moderation. Many european coutries wisley treat teens as human beings period and they have alot less problems than the US. We are #1 in teen preganacy of the developed nations, our approach is a big failure.

Answer 10

My problem with people under 18 having babies is that there are some very responsible 17 year olds that can handle children and some if not a lot of adults that really do not need children but when they have them they 'grow up' fast. Myself included. I was 20 when my daughter was born and people were so afraid I would 'throw away' the baby with the bath water . But when she was born I grew up and became a better person.

I am also afraid that if it was 18 or olde and not kids it will lead into having to have a certain amount of money, education and smarts and that I would never go for.