teenage parent comment in observer

[southeastastra]

very interesting

It was interesting, although I don't think I agree with her.

I was a young mother - pregnant with DS1 at 20, then DD less than 2 years later. And I was clueless, and a crap, unhappy mother (in hindsight). I was a better mother (with younger DCs) when I was a lot older - more confident, more mature, less selfish.

She makes the teenage mums having buggy races sound like a bed of roses, and I'm quite sure it's not.

The comments after are depressing though - full of £feckless single mother" comments. I am a single mother as DH left. I work and only claim tax credits (nowt else) so get hacked off at being demonized by those too thick to see beyond the black and white.

i thought the article was really good, agree comments after are grim..

wanky patronising article.

The article is still depressing in it's play to stereotypes.

Teenage mothers on the council estates are not wasters lacking in any ambition - well great.

So why do all middle class mother's still need to be stereotyped as hell bent on making their 2 year old a brain surgeon before their 3.

Bariatric, I couldn't agree more. All w/c mums are salt of the earth, all m/c mums are stiff-backed uberbitches. Right.

I dread to think what her novels are like.

i liked it

I liked the article a lot ..

are you on msn usual

will go on

won't work sea ..have you broke it

i did

hmm - thanks for the southeastastra

I don't agree with all of it -and the "single mother" bit (about when her OH is away) riled me a bit

BUT it was exactly the sort of story I'm needig to look out for this week for my OU course.

As with any news "story" about parenting/children it turns a very small study/stereotype into a larger one and portrays "that" as the way modern life is taking us blah blah blah

I like this article because for once it did not demonise teenage mums.

I was one, not through choice, but I did the best I could and I thinbk i have done a not bad job.

Oh give me strength My mother had 2 kids before 21 and she hadn't got a fecking clue, sure we had fun as toddlers/young children but then by the time she'd hit 30 and decided to start educating herself and making a better life for us she'd also decided that we were too much trouble.
If the mother hasn't had fun herself and time to be irresponsible and carefree then she'll run out of steam in my limited experience (but I grew up on a council estate so I've seen a fair few teenage mums and the outcomes).
Much as I've met some stressed 30 year old mums I'd still take that over a mother who when faced with options/gcse/alevel/degree choices looks blankly back at you like you're from a different planet.
And I was bloody lucky that my aunty, who was 10 years older than my mum was available to get me that far, mum couldn't see anything wrong with "being happy" with a shop job or perhaps a hairdresser.

I had ds at 19 (forced, not my choice)... am approaching 30 now and most certainly am not "running out of steam"

I've gone and done a levels (extra from what I did at school) degree and post graduate study - I won't look blankly at my children and say "eh?"

My mother hasn't a clue about higher education; she had me in her (counts back) mid twenties... she, even now in her 50s, gets me to explain the courses I'm applying for in simple terms!

Depends on the person really. My mother was 18 when she had my brother and was an excellent parent.

I know a mother who had her daughter at 13, worked babysitting after school until she was old enough to get a "real" job, saved up, got financial assistance, put herself through college and got a great job. She had almost zero support from her parents, too, and her daughter was always extremely well cared for.

But...I know lots of instances where that isn't the case as well.