Teenage pregnancy

Parents have a responsibility to bring up their children morally and also teach them to discern right from wrong. Although parents operate under the assumption and belief that their children will heed everything they are taught, mistakes are part of growing up. Part of child upbringing must therefore allow room for mistakes as this encourages the young to try out new things on their own. Parents must therefore learn to overlook some of the mistakes that their children made and use them as teaching moments. On serious issues such as pregnancy however, decision making is made difficult as the parent has to look out for the interests of the child and the new born on the way. If a teenager becomes pregnant, the parents should encourage the teenager to keep the baby and offer support during the pregnancy and upbringing rather than adopting the child themselves.

            Teenage pregnancies raise a lot of concerns especially because of the challenges involved when raising a child. Most parents believe that they are better at taking on responsibilities of raising a baby because majority either have first hand experience or have been around enough children and responsibilities to know how to go about taking care of a baby (Dowshen, 2016). While a general knowhow is important when looking after a new born, taking the baby away from the mother simply because the parents have experience denies the mother the opportunity to learn and take care of children in future. The new mother deserves the same opportunities offered to older parents to raise her child and make decisions about their future (Dowshen, 2016). If the parents were to assume all responsibilities involved in bring up the new born, it would deny the new mother the opportunity to learn how to take care of children. The lack of first-hand experience is likely to cause more problems in future as the teenager will be forced to rely on the parents if she happens to conceive another child.

            Allowing the teenager to keep the child could help create an environment where the teenager learns from the parents instead of abandoning all responsibilities. Instead of adoption the baby, parents should instead come up with ways to help the teenager cope with the pregnancies as well as prepare for the challenges that are involved in raising a new born (Michigan Medicine, 2018). The parents should therefore try to find ways to improve communication with the teenager as well as come up with ways to prepare the child for life as a parent. Since the new born is teenager’s responsibility, the parents should use the experience as a teaching moment to educate the teenager about consequences that follow the decisions people make and also how to be a good parent regardless of the challenges that come about in the process.

            An argument can be made that allowing the parents to adopt the new born is the best approach. The belief is based on the notion that teenagers are ill equipped for parenthood and are likely to make mistakes that could threaten the safety of the child. While it is true that teenagers do not have much experience at being parents, adoption could do more harm than good as it will get in the way of the relationship between the teenager and the child (Sawhill, 2001). Although the parents are more equipped to take care new-borns, the knowledge can be taught and shared with the teenager and prepare her for life as a parent.

Being a parent requires more than experience and general knowhow. Mothers develop a bond with their child throughout the process and most find it easier to take care of their children regardless of any challenges that may arise. For teenagers, emphasis should be placed on helping the new parents take care of their children rather than taking on all responsibilities of raising the child. The experience not only encourages responsible sexual activity but also creates an opportunity for all parents to be responsible regardless of the age they conceived.

References

Dowshen S, (2016) “When your kid is having a baby” Kids Health, retrieved from,             https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/teen-pregnancy.html

Michigan Medicine, (2018) “Should states support pregnant teens and their babies? Most adults in national poll agree that their states should provide health-related support for            pregnant teens but with limitations”. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from    www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180416085947.htm

Sawhill V, (2001) “What can be done to reduce teen pregnancy and out-of-wedlock births?”        Brookings, retrieved from, https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-can-be-done-to-  reduce-teen-pregnancy-and-out-of-wedlock-births/