How about this then........ A few weeks ago a fellow Diva was driving to work and spotted a homemade banner on a roundabout saying 'Happy 30th Nan!' The thought that the 'Nan' in question could be a great granny at my age simply floored me!
Should we be questioning this? is it OK for our society to encourage and support an ever increasing number of teenage mums?
Personally, apart from the ever present exception, this makes me sad. Sad for missed opportunities, lack of life experience, lack of independence and a waste of talent and aspiration. Don't get me wrong, I am not undermining motherhood, on the contrary, it is by far our greatest role but how can these girls be mothers when they have barely even left childhood? And what about the life model they pass on - their legacy?
This is a complex issue. There are no black and white solutions. As someone who is passionate about raising the aspirations and self belief of teenage girls I am pro-active in this area and would love to hear your views as to why they want babies so young?
What do ya think Divas?
does this mean zero approval if we don't agree?
Posted by: Jacqueline Madders | May 20, 2009 at 09:26 AM
whose approval are you asking for? I am just interested in views? what are yours??
Posted by: jane kenyon | May 20, 2009 at 04:58 PM
After being told by my 17yr old cousin at weekend - that she would like a baby - no correct that, she would like a bump! I would like to agree with Janes concerns!
Its a difficult topic as i am sure there are as many brilliant teenage mums are there are older ones, however like Jane say's what are they missing out on? and are they really mature and experienced enough to mould the new generation?
I think they will make much better mums once they have discovered the real world, had plenty of fun and are ready to have the baby as well as the bump!!
Posted by: Nicola Smalley | May 26, 2009 at 12:40 PM
My opinion is that it's not an ideal age to have a child.
It's hard enough when older and you have years of maturity and life experience behind you (not to mention money) - a young teen is ill equipped to offer good parenting.
Young teens should not be having children and this growing issue should be addressed by the government.
One teen birth only encourages the next generation to do the same and encourages many of the social issues we face in the UK today.
We are in a vicious circle that needs interrupting.
Posted by: Amanda | June 25, 2009 at 01:56 PM
I'm not sure the government can do much more. The issue is complex and tied up with social issues/poverty etc. My focus over the last 25 years has been on changing our consciousness around the menstrual cycle - firstly to create body literacy (we're amazing illiterate about how our bodies work, we're actually only fertile for a few days each menstrual month), and to understand how the menstrual cycle is an amazing self care and inner guidance tool. Girls need proper education into the amazing power of the their bodies. It's a huge topic. I've just coauthored a book on the dangers of the oral contraceptive pill due out next month in UK called The Pill: are you sure it for you? where we address many of these issues. I think we women in our communities need to step forward and initiate our daughters, nieces, granddaughters into a new conversation about the passage to womanhood.
Posted by: Alexandra Pope | August 20, 2009 at 10:12 AM