HUZZAH! Banned from Rentech.com!
ZephyrZodiac:
Most teenagers "like" the idea of babies - they're cuddly and apparently all they need is feeding, bathing and nappy-changing and a cot to sleep in! They are too young to realise the implications of babies growing into toddlers, then children who need help with schoolwork etc. - all this while young mum wants to go out and party with her friends! Babies are embryo children/teenagers/adults, and teenagers are really not ready to take on that kind of responsibility - they aren't even old enough to be responsible for themselves, let alone another human being!
Inge:
You've been conditioned to thinking a home means Mummy, Daddy and Baby. In that case, no, a 16 year old cannot make a home for a child and support it financially unless they are an exceptional 16 year old. But if you'll pardon the pun, this is pretty much throwing the baby out with the bathwater :)
What exactly is wrong with playing with dolls after having a baby? Has anyone here managed to fool themselves into thinking they're *not* playing with dolls when they load up The Sims?
ZephyrZodiac:
The basis of your argument, Inge, was that teenagers have better genes than older women. However, the very teenage girls who tend to have babies very young tend to be from backgrounds which are unstable, and threfore cannot provide the necessary support, and often those girls have inherited low intelligence etc., which is hardly what you are recommending passing on.
If, and only if, the human race was on the verge of extinction, could I see any argument, however unethical, which could justify turning young girls into milch cows as a matter of public policy!
Kitiara:
Quote from: Inge on 2005 August 24, 23:17:29
You've been conditioned to thinking a home means Mummy, Daddy and Baby. In that case, no, a 16 year old cannot make a home for a child and support it financially unless they are an exceptional 16 year old. But if you'll pardon the pun, this is pretty much throwing the baby out with the bathwater :)
What exactly is wrong with playing with dolls after having a baby? Has anyone here managed to fool themselves into thinking they're *not* playing with dolls when they load up The Sims?
:o
I've been reading this thread with my mouth hanging open.
I think you are being niave if you think teenagers are actually ready to be parents. They may think so, but most do not understand what parenthood really entails.
I have known teenage parents (and yes I realize they would not fit your scenario because they are from a society that did not encourage this), and have yet to see it turn out well. My (28 yr old) friend is still struggling to put her life with her (12 yr old) daughter in order. She loves her daughter, but feels that both of them would have been better off if she had been older when she got pregnant.
I was 21 when my first child was born. I feel that I was too young. I was not emotionally or financially prepared for the reality of being a mother (and I was married). It is 10 years later. I am the mother of three. I love my kids. I had them too young.
I think encouraging teenagers to have children (not that they really need encouragement) would be irresponsible and lead to disastrous results. Sure, having children while younger Can be healthier, but mid-twenties is quite young enough. Teenagers often have more complications during childbirth than adults in their early to mid twenties.
Inge:
Quote from: Kitiara on 2005 August 25, 04:29:38
I think you are being niave if you think teenagers are actually ready to be parents. They may think so, but most do not understand what parenthood really entails.
This is getting frustrating because some people are not bothering to read *all* of what I am saying. You're seeing "teenagers should not be discouraged from having babies" and stopping reading at that point. I already said I agree that most teenagers would be unable to raise a kid and run a home in the way parents are expected to in western society in 2005. I agree with you there - have you read this now?
I am saying that I don't agree that the person who runs the home and makes decisions for the child should necessarily be only the biological or legal parents. I am saying that yes, the parents should be around while the child is growing up, but no they don't need to be the people paying the bills, doing the cooking, driving the child to football club, or having the final say on house rules. The people doing those things could be older family members who share the house. Lots of cultures do it that way. If the eldest woman continues to set the rules, then it doesn't matter if a teenager has a baby she was too mentally immature to parent - she will be taught how to do it and someone will be there to step in if she isn't getting it right, or if she deserves a night out clubbing.
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