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

next time you decide to posts statistics , get them from a better source hun. anybody is free to write "facts" unto wikipedia. and for the record a mother of 40 could be a worse mother than a teenager. dont start to judging ...

Quoting tina!..:“ next time you decide to posts statistics , get them from a better source hun. anybody is free to write ... [snip!] ... "facts" unto wikipedia. and for the record a mother of 40 could be a worse mother than a teenager. dont start to judging ...”

 

I can tell you didn't read this whole thread.

Quoting GKH:“   I can tell you didn't read this whole thread.”

haha obviously i didnt . im new to the site .. just wanted to post my opinion..!

Quoting tina!..:“ haha obviously i didnt . im new to the site .. just wanted to post my opinion..!”

maybe you should read the whole thing before you make yourself look like an idiot.

Quoting tina!..:“ next time you decide to posts statistics , get them from a better source hun. anybody is free to write ... [snip!] ... "facts" unto wikipedia. and for the record a mother of 40 could be a worse mother than a teenager. dont start to judging ...”

to re-quote myself for the FOURTH TIME:

i just picked a well known source and kept it simple for the sake of my readers.

these statistics are sadly (for many teens and their children) not bull at all.

here are some other studies/sites for you that reaffirm/back up wikipedia:

talking about poverty and teens and how their kids are not graduating from high school: http://www.pregnantteenhelp.org/articles1.html

• Unmarried teenagers having children account for 24 percent of all unmarried expectant mothers.
• More than 2/3 of all teenagers who have a baby will not graduate from high school.
• Billions of dollars are spent taking care of teenage mothers and their children and they are more likely to be in the poverty bracket. On the flip side, millions of dollars are spent in prevention programs.

from the official site that is the national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy
you can download full length studies that look at the cost of teen pregnancy on the mother and on their children ... in summary they state:

"Teen childbearing in the United States costs taxpayers (federal, state, and local) at least $9.1 billion, according to a new report by Saul Hoffman, Ph.D. and published by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Most of the costs of teen childbearing are associated with negative consequences for the children of teen mothers, including increased costs for health care, foster care, and incarceration."

The Abstract for "Care of Adolescent Parents and Their Children" as published in the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2001 states that:

"Adolescent parents and their children represent populations at increased risk for medical, psychological, developmental, and social problems, as previously described.1 In 1997,there were 489210 live births to 15-to 19-year-old females in the United States.2 The myriad concerns associated with adolescent pregnancy and potential obstetric and perinatal complications are summarized in a separate statement.Prevention of adolescent pregnancy and identification of factors that improve outcomes for parenting adolescents and their offspring are gaining increased visibility as the numbers of younger adolescents in our population are increasing.

anyway, if you'd like more information on just why this is not bull i'll be happy to keep posting.

wikipedia is not always a reliable resource on all things out there, but on such a well-studied and wide spread phenomenon as teen pregnancy, they have no problem (as i did w/ google just now) accessing reliable sources for surveys and statistics which -- not surprisingly at all, indicate that teens are not in an optimum position to be parents.

but that's obvious-- an adolescent is not financially, mentally, or emotionally mature -- they may be relative to others in their peer group, but relative to themself, every single teen mother out there who's lived to see her twenties will tell you that it was a difficult journey and one they would be better equipped to take if they had waited.

reality is: pregnancies happen b/c teenagers have sex so i've posted this to open the eyes of those teens not yet ready to face the magnitude of the responsibility they face as parents-to-be.

it's a struggle to be a good parent even if you've got all the money in the world, a stable home environment, and 25 years of living experience under your belt.

if you'd taken the time to read this thread you'll see many young women on here who've defied the statistics... who've put their nose to the grind stone and done their damnedest to raise their kids well despite having few resources at their disposal.

the statistics aren't bull, but neither are those women who've defied them. it's important to educate yourself to know what you're facing. that's all.

Quoting AM♥NDA:“ maybe you should read the whole thing before you make yourself look like an idiot.”

wow an insult was really necessary huh?

Quoting tina!..:“ wow an insult was really necessary huh?”

in this situation, yes.
had you come in here & read exactly what Mara said, maybe not.

Quoting strong teen mommy!:“ i agree that 12 is way to young to be haveing sex... i lost my virginity at 12 got pregnant at 13 and ... [snip!] ... i stepped up to my responsibilities and dealt with my choices. i don't regret haveing my son but i do wish i would have waited.”

Good for you! Wow it is incredible how long has this posting been here and this is the first one I've seen that really makes sense. Proud of you perhaps if more teen & young parents stepped up with the simpliest of response like that took charge and said Hey! I did it but there are better ways we could see positive results. Its very refreshing to see someone who isn't trying to blindly post defensiveness ignorant of the actual situations of life people find themselves in.
Good for you Teen Mom.
As for all the other defensive girls out there who are trying so hard to ignore the downsides of their own situation I've said it before and I'll say it again, those who ARE in the statistics aren't here. Those who struggle HARD dont have time to play online. Up until my daughter was 3 neither did I. Ya 40 yr olds can be bad parents but ur sure not making yourself look all that great and responsible either... just hasty

Quoting ToriMommy:“ Good for you! Wow it is incredible how long has this posting been here and this is the first one I've ... [snip!] ... I. Ya 40 yr olds can be bad parents but ur sure not making yourself look all that great and responsible either... just hasty”

thanks lol....

I dont think I should be a statistic. Yes! some teens do start having sex at an early age but that doesnt give anyone the right to judge me. I wouldnt even call my pregnancy a mistake because i would hate for my child to grow thinkin she was a mistake. yes Im 17 and im pregnant with my first child but when she is born I will already be 18. The point is that im blessed to have my daughter not everyone can have children and i happen to be able to and got pregnant. I finished high school and im already going to nursing school i live in a nice apartment complex and im doing good to be living on my own. So i want someone to make a statistic out of that.

Quoting ♥Keyaira♥:“ I dont think I should be a statistic. Yes! some teens do start having sex at an early age but that doesnt ... [snip!] ... i live in a nice apartment complex and im doing good to be living on my own. So i want someone to make a statistic out of that.”

I dont see ANYWHERE where we as young moms are being judged all its saying is why you DONT WANT to end up as a statistic. Meaning the becoming a young parent means added responsibility of ensuring you lookout for yours and ur childs best interests by finshing school, staying off welfare, and recognizing your own responsibility to help other teens avoid parenthood until their ready. I like yourself avoided becoming a statistic but barely.
I'm not proud to admit it but I did end up on state assistance with my daughter for the first year of her life and was soooo embarrased by it (even though it wasn't my fault at all I was a victim of layoffs and age discrimination) that I worked doubly hard to show my daughter all a single young mom could do. I meet my husband while finishing up my associates degree and now two years latter have defied the odds but will never stop speaking out to teens with how I wish I had waited not because I think my pregnancy was a mistake but because I LOVE my daughter THAT much that I know how Lucky I was and how she deserved sooooo much I'm blessed to have been able to give her the life I have but not Naive enough to realize how close i came to not being able to give her the family and life she deserved.

Quoting ♥Keyaira♥:“ I dont think I should be a statistic. Yes! some teens do start having sex at an early age but that doesnt ... [snip!] ... i live in a nice apartment complex and im doing good to be living on my own. So i want someone to make a statistic out of that.”

no ones judging, she posted statistics that a lot of teens do fall into. And she wasn't saying the babies are mistakes, but a lot of teen girls do get pregnant without the intention to because they were not taking the correct precautions.

A lot of teens have been trying to prove that we are not a statistic, including myself, but you are 17 which makes you a teen mom so that itself is one of the statistics. I was 18 when i got married and then shortly after got pregnant with my first child, I am now about to be 20 next month, pregnant with our 2nd, full time student and working full time, with a house and car, living on our own. So yes, some of us do wonderful jobs as teen moms but we are still teens, all she is trying to say is we need to break the habit for future generations. 

Quoting MoMMa SuZii:“ no ones judging, she posted statistics that a lot of teens do fall into. And she wasn't saying the babies ... [snip!] ... jobs as teen moms but we are still teens, all she is trying to say is we need to break the habit for future generations. ”

*claps hands together happily like a five year old being given a cupcake*

thank you for breaking the long and very frustrating pattern of people who seem to have no reading comprehension.

i was starting to worry.

My own discepancy with this article is that its a generalization. There are huge factors which affect and influence each person's situation. I myself graduated with honours in the largest public school in the province. I devoted myself to being a leader and had finished most of my first year in University before I even got accepted! Not all teen girls who get pregnant are dumb. I do believe there is a huge sense ofnaiveness that has come into young mothers todaythat should not fall under a generalization but be addressed solely tothose that applyto it. I am only 18 years old andhad only been 18 for a few months before I got pregnant. The only issue I myself have with pregnant teens are ones that don't learn the first time around. If you're 17-18-19 and now you have two babies, I am disappointed in that. Just because you didn't plan anything out to get to that point. Chances are you haven't had post-secondary education completed, not ean extensive amount of training or completion in training courses and work full time because you have to and have a boyfriend (if you're lucky enough to have one still) that works in a trade and doesn't have all the time to spend with you and your family. You might even have some social assistance if you're not married or living under common-law conditions. Its not something to be proud of and not something that young mothers should even have to put their child through, let alone two or more children.

I find the statistics too generalized. They are too biased. Everyone faces their own issues with it but if you think its "cool" to be having a baby while you're still in your teens - you probably aren't ready to be having one, nor do I believe I myself am ready just yet. For those that think its "cool" like its some sort of "toy" that isn't going to change your entire life - you deserve to be one of those generalized statistics out of ignorance and naiveness. I myself choose to be of the latter.

Im not saying anything about the statistics but they are from the mothers that have proven they cant do it on their own. I would like to see the statistics that say the percent that does make it. They wont make those statistics because too many teens make good parents and they dont want every teen having a baby because they think they willmake good parents. so they make statistics that show that teens that get pregnant cant do itand drop out and get thrown out of theirhouse andgets disowned by their parents so teens will thinkaboutwhat todo. This is my personalopinionand not everyone is going to agree with it but i think this is why the statistics is about teenmoms who cantdo it. I think everyone has the potential to bea good parent no matter their age if they just took the time todo it.