re: why you don't want to be a statistic in wikipedia

Quoting Mara:“ you don't need to defend anyone b/c i'm not attacking anyone... all i'm doing is pointing out a reality ... [snip!] ... again w/ the story of how they're in college now ... working towards a brighter bigger future for themselves and their child.”

& i have taken responcibility.
thats all i have to say.

I just want to point out for everyone pointing out the statistics that you can research the same thing on five different sites and find five different statistics they are based on a certain research groups info and often that research groups point of view. Teen mothers dont make bad parents they just happen to fall under the age group of being under 20 age and experience help with making better decisons but teen mothers do just as good of a job as anyone else.

Quoting soCal Momma:“ I just want to point out for everyone pointing out the statistics that you can research the same thing ... [snip!] ... of being under 20 age and experience help with making better decisons but teen mothers do just as good of a job as anyone else.”

you will invariably find different data on different sites-- but the results always point to a negative trend for a majority of societal issues related to teen pregnancy:

you will find different but high numbers for the percentage of inmates who were born to mothers under the age of 18.

you will find different but high numbers for the percentage of teen moms who were mothered by teen moms themselves.

you will find different but high numbers for the percentage of children of teen mothers w/ learning disabilities, social problems, tendancies to drop out of high school, problems w/ alcholism, etc.

you will find different but high numbers for the percentage of pregnant teens who fail to go to the doctor during their pregnancy, fail to take their prenatals...

so-- you're right inasmuch as there are certainly different numbers out there depending on who's doing the research, but the fact's never show positive trends ... and how can they?

teenagers are-- by virtue of their age and educational status, less stable financially, emotionally, mentally, and thus, more likely to have difficulties doing many of the things that are already a challenge for an adult parent w/ the means.

so no, not all teen mothers do just as good a job as anyone else.

some teen mothers do a fabulous job, some teen moms do okay, some teen moms abuse their children...

the problem remains: the chances of parental neglect, child abuse, and whatnot are higher when the parent is not financially, emotionally, and mentally stable-- regardless of age... teens are just less stable in all of these categories-- some more than others.

Quoting Mara:“ you will invariably find different data on different sites-- but the results always point to a negative ... [snip!] ... and mentally stable-- regardless of age... teens are just less stable in all of these categories-- some more than others.”

you dont need to put all this shit up.
if people wanted to know we would look it up ourselves .

Quoting aidens_mommy_5808:“ you dont need to put all this shit up. if people wanted to know we would look it up ourselves .”

obviously you don't want to know... i don't know why you don't want to know, since you feel that you're a responsible individual and thus these facts shouldn't effect you personally.

either way, i believe it's important for teenagers to know what they're up against, to educate themselves and begin to change these statistics.

like i said, if the numbers don't apply to you, then you have no reason to take it personally.

Quoting Mara:“ obviously you don't want to know... i don't know why you don't want to know, since you feel that you're ... [snip!] ... to change these statistics. like i said, if the numbers don't apply to you, then you have no reason to take it personally.”

yupp.

Quoting lyssababy07:“ I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but that isn't true in the least bit. I'm not trying to be rude to you, ... [snip!] ... need to step up and take YOUR responsibilities and make sure you don't end up being one of those statistics, or your child.”

i have to agree with Aidens mommy on this one. there are teenage moms who are better than any other mom out there. as a teenage mom we bust our ass to support our child and like i said before i do not think we should be put down because of our age. There are women that do not take care of their children, they are busy worried about their career and material things.

Quoting MoMMa SuZii:“ i have to agree with Aidens mommy on this one. there are teenage moms who are better than any other ... [snip!] ... our age. There are women that do not take care of their children, they are busy worried about their career and material things.”

anyone that's putting you down b/c of your age is not looking at the situation clearly.

anyone who's menstrating can get pregnant... teenagers that choose to have sex are at risk of getting pregnant, it goes w/ the territory.

now, regarding what you just said: as a teenage mom we bust our ass to support our child and like i said before i do not think we should be put down because of our age

anyone that's busting their ass for their child is doing the right thing and age has nothing to do with it.

but the fact is: not all teen moms are busting their ass-- there are plenty of them who're very irresponsible (and this is one of the reasons they got pregnant in the first place).

but good for those of you who do bust your ass-- i have nothing but respect for you.

Quoting Mara:“you've decided to be responsible-- that's great, but there's just no way in the world that we can pretend that being a teen mom is a wonderful thing, even if you are doing your best.”

I think this is horrible how you are talking down on teenage moms like this... and i'm not talking is offensively because everyone is entitled to their opinion but there are teenage moms who were going no where and because of their baby, they have decided to move forward.

Maybe people should be worried about how these teenagers are getting guns and shooting at these schools or maybe if your going to post statistics you should post accurate ones, broken down by all ages and races.

Quoting Mara:“ obviously you don't want to know... i don't know why you don't want to know, since you feel that you're ... [snip!] ... to change these statistics. like i said, if the numbers don't apply to you, then you have no reason to take it personally.”

We can take is personally because you are the type of people that add us in that group, and since you want to add use to the group we should be able to defend them. && then something came up about being financially stable and abusing their child..... there are ADULTS 26+ who abuse their children and are not financially stable because they have an addiction to some sort

pull those statistics up!

Quoting MoMMa SuZii:“ I think this is horrible how you are talking down on teenage moms like this... and i'm not talking is ... [snip!] ... who abuse their children and are not financially stable because they have an addiction to some sort pull those statistics up!”

ahhh... i don't think you've read through this entire thread... and if you have, you haven't read very carefully.

but i'll repeat myself for your sake: i'm not talking down on anyone-- i'm siting statistics that are a reality.

i'm not making these numbers up... and i'm not going to pat any teenager on the back for being pregnant. if you're being a responsible parent that is absolutely wonderful and precisely what should be happening, but that's not what's happening everywhere in america.

i don't add anyone to the statistics.

you're getting defensive about something you have no reason to be defensive for if you really are busting your ass b/c you are not one of those statistics.

and there's no denying that abuse and neglect can happen at any age-- it's just more likely to happen when a parent is a teenager.

please read carefully through the thread before assuming that i'm attacking you or any teenager.

all i want-- for the millionth time, is for teens to be aware of the risks. being a good parent isn't easy no matter what your age-- but it's much more difficult if you're still in school, still developing mentally and emotionally, and still financially dependent and/or unstable.

to change the statistics, teenagers need to be willing to listen, to grow, and to be more responsible than their peers.

so please, realize this isn't an attack-- it's a brief lesson on the situation facing many teens who're pregnant and haven't begun to prepare themselves for the very large challenge of being a good parent while still growing up, getting an education, and so on.

Quoting MoMMa SuZii:“ I think this is horrible how you are talking down on teenage moms like this... and i'm not talking is ... [snip!] ... who abuse their children and are not financially stable because they have an addiction to some sort pull those statistics up!”

i agree with you mama !

I am not taking it offensively like i have stated before, i think others are taking it offensively when you go out of your way to post statistics about teenage moms when maybe you should be posting statistics on parents in general.... everything we all need to work on as a whole. You might not see it as talking down on but when you feel like posting this and telling use what teenage moms are doing wrong, that how it comes off on us. You are one person, focus on your children to make a difference with teenage moms. you telling us what the statistics are is not going to change our whole lives, according to you we have already fell into this statistics meaning our children will also. No where in those statistics does it state if the parents help these children maybe they will not have a child at the age of 15.

My name is Nicole I am currently a mom and a mommy-to-be. I personally did not like the article my mom and my fiances mom was a teen mom and nothin was wrong with me or with him nor is there anything wrong with our child. he is healthy and happy. wikipedia isnt right ne ways someone can go in and edit those stats for no reason my dad wasnt a teen parent and he beat the crap out of me so there goes alot of those stats down the drain

Quoting MoMMa SuZii:“ I am not taking it offensively like i have stated before, i think others are taking it offensively when ... [snip!] ... where in those statistics does it state if the parents help these children maybe they will not have a child at the age of 15.”

according to you we have already fell into this statistics meaning our children will also.

wrong.

i have not stated that anywhere-- you are inferring things that i simply have not said.

interestingly, a significant number of the teen mothers who were offended and replied to this posting were mothered by teens themselves-- which is one of the statistics i sited: teenage mothers are more likely to give birth to children who become teen parents.

not once have i said that being pregnant makes a teenager is a bad person, wrong for being pregnant, or whatever it is that you are reading into my statements.

all i have done is site the statistics that exist out there to bring these risks up-- to challenge all of you to be more and to change those statistics.

if you don't like the fact that teen parents are more likely to have problems raising their children, that's not my fault, it's the fault of those teens who're irresponsible, unstable, neglectful, and abusive.

if you're not one of those sorts of teens, great. if you are, for the sake of your innocent and vulnerable child(ren): change and become responsible, loving, stable parents.

Quoting mommytobeagainhopefully:“ My name is Nicole I am currently a mom and a mommy-to-be. I personally did not like the article my mom ... [snip!] ... stats for no reason my dad wasnt a teen parent and he beat the crap out of me so there goes alot of those stats down the drain”

please read carefully through all of this thread and you will see that the statistics cited from wikipedia are backed up by reputable sources-- that i used wikipedia b/c it is a well known source.

and actually, you are a statistic if you're a pregnant teenager-- b/c your mother was one as well and this was one of the stats i cited: teen parents are more likely to have children that become teen parents themselves.

either way, statistics are not the whole picture, they're just a generalization of the situation. obviously there are plenty of rotten parents who're not teenagers as well. there's just a higher probability of neglect and abuse occuring if you're a parent during the teen years.