Massachusetts Teen Pregnancy Pact: Unlucky or Morons
Glosslip’s been railing against this upsurge in unmarried pregnancies in Hollywood for a while now, and then to make matters worse, we had Jamie Lynn Spears who gets pregnant at 16 while still starring on her Nickelodeon show “Zoey 101″. We haven’t even bothered to mention the explicit sexual content on teen shows, movies or sitcoms. And let’s not forget the over-sexualization of young girls as exhibited by Disney’s “wholesome” young women like Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens, who’ve both had risque photos leaked out on to the web. But now, we have these numbskulls in Massachusetts pretty much bragging about having sex before they are even adults and out of high school.
The above video interview with one of the 17 pregnant teens who is part of the alleged “pregnancy pact” and her 20-year old boyfriend (she’s 17) illustrates what’s wrong with today’s society. Kids who think it’s perfectly acceptable to be having sex, getting pregnant and dating guys who aren’t even in high school anymore. And when they asked the expectant 20-year old father why he thinks there are so many pregnant girls at his girlfriend’s high school, his response is “they’re unlucky I guess.”
Unlucky has nothing to do with it. How about just plain old irresponsible and immature. That’s what these girls are and the boys who had sex with them. I know teens have sex and sometimes people get pregnant, but this is getting to be regoshdamndiculous.
I blame Hollywood, a lack of family values and plain old-fashioned lazy parenting. Man, do I sound old and out of it.
Oh, and don’t get me started on that condescending dickhead interviewing them. Those two knuckleheads are lucky I wasn’t interviewing them, they’d both be in tears crying to their mama. I do NOT play.
Parenting isn’t “FUN” y’all. It’s hard work, it’s a thankless job much of the time, it robs you of your youth (and sometimes your will to go on) and in the end, assuming you do an ok job, you get to spend your retirement on sending these “blessings” to college.
Sure it’s an important job that needs to be done, and that’s why it should be left to adults. We’re already miserable, what’s some barfing, pooping, sass-talk and sleep-deprivation?
I can hardly stomach the blatant stupidity of these kids.
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You don’t sound old and out of it…you sound sensible and rational.
It’s no big secret that this country is going to hell in a handbasket, and here you have one good reason why. Parents are too scared to parent…they’d rather be their kids’ “friend” or, worse, not be there at all. And then you have people like Jamie Lynn and movies like Juno…what do people expect? While these things are the effect rather than the cause, to have teen pregnancy glorified in the media certainly isn’t the way to go about things.
I’m voting for “moron”, but I’m not surprised. Parents need to wake up and be parents, and allow their kids to be young as long as possible. The real world intrudes soon enough.
Oh…and I already told my kids there is a little thing called “good grades”, and they’d better make ‘em if they want to go to college (which I’ve informed them that they are), because we have zero dollars for retirement, let alone college.
Comment by k — June 24, 2008 @ 1:46 pm
Ugh! I heard about this there other day. I couldn’t believe it. Wait… yes, I could.
Teens do stupid things, having been one once myself not so long ago. But… a ‘pregnancy pact’??? What is WRONG with these girls???
Look, I know realistically, we can’t stop some teens from having sex. We CAN hopefully stop them from making stupid choices like this that they will live with FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES. These kids do NOT realize the full impact of what they’ve done and they won’t until they get a taste of parenthood.
They just don’t get that they will be responsible for another human life. These children will be dependent on THEM to raise them. They aren’t toys. These babies will be innocent human lives relying on irresponsible teen mothers who wanted to have children out of their own selfish needs. A baby is not meant for that. They need to come from an expression of love.
Comment by A Watcher — June 24, 2008 @ 2:03 pm
Not to mention… who is going to pay for these children when their teen parents can’t afford it or can’t finish school and drop out??? The responsible people who work every day??!! Soooooo much of my salary is taken away for taxes that “help” people. This just teaches these kids how to strike it rich off of the “bad parent govt” that financially rewards bad behavior.
Comment by Jackie — June 24, 2008 @ 6:16 pm
I think that some young adults have feelings like older adults… I am 17 and I am expecting my first child. I am not ashamed to be pregnant at such a young age because I know that I am ready for a child. I have raised a baby already so why not raise my own! I know that some teenagers take things to the extreme for instance this pregnancy pact but some others know what they are doing and they may be physically and emotionally ready to have a child. Age is nothing but a number! Its all about what you have up in your mind. You parents talk like we have no clue what to do with ourselves so we go out and have sex… but thats not the case for all of us. Teenagers make their own decisions whether you want them to or not. Its just something your going to have to deal with.
Comment by Melanie — June 24, 2008 @ 7:01 pm
Hey Melanie, let’s hear from you again when you give birth to your child and have to pay for everything that is required to support one. Who will be paying for your expenses like doctor visits, numerous tests, labor, child care, your child’s education etc? Your mommy? The government? Or is the father of your child a successful businessman who will do anything for you and his unborn child? NO! Or are you going to be a working mom with a college degree and a great job that can pay for everything? NO! Where will you get the support to raise your child and still make something of yourself? Welfare? It’s easy to have sex, get pregnant and look cute in maternity clothes but once that child is born there is no going back. So when you talk about teens making their own decisions, maybe they should stop and rethink what they’re getting themselves into before telling adults to “deal with it” as you put it. And where are your parents? Where are the parents of all of these children? Only in this country can you be afraid of your own child and just sit back and watch them ruin their lives because if you say something others will report you for “abuse”. I am disgusted by your words and the actions of the teens in this article.
Comment by rachel — June 24, 2008 @ 8:40 pm
Melanie,
Tell me… how are YOUR parents ‘dealing with it?’
It’s very easy for you to say that now, but let’s see how you feel after this baby is born. Then a little something called ‘reality’ sets in.
You claim to ‘know’ that your ready. All right then, answer me this.
Do you have a steady job?
Does it pay more than the minimum wage? (It varies by state, but it’s somewhere between $5 and $8 an hour)
What are your hours?
How much will you have left after taxes?
What kind of benefits do you receive? (Medical, dental, etc)
Will you have (un)paid maternity leave and will your job still be there when you get back?
Can you afford a sitter?
Will you have your own place or live with parent/friend/boyfriend?
Have you been screened for risk of Postpartum Depression, a disease that strikes thousands of women (more than 20% and growing) in the United States?
Have you educated yourself on all known common infant/childhood ailments and diseases? Do you know what to look out for?
What do you know about SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), asperger’s syndrome, autism, multiple sclerosis or possible birth defects? Do you know the father’s family medical history? As a teen, your baby IS AT GREATER RISK OF DEVELOPING ANY ONE OF THESE.
Do you plan to go on welfare? Tax payer dollars are supporting you, hence rachel’s frustration and I can’t blame her. Everyone works hard for what they earn and they don’t appreciate having all their taxpaying dollars go to people who are irresponsible and don’t seem to get it. And with the way the economy has been lately, don’t expect to get much in the ways of financial support.
People are losing their jobs, homes and cars left and right and at 17, I doubt you’ll find much except working at McDonald’s, waitressing or working retail (I work in retail; not fun and the pay is pretty crappy. And to make matters worse, my hours have been cut). Plus welfare is NO FUN. My family was on welfare and it SUCKED to high Heaven. We couldn’t afford food, a doctor or clothes. If you think that it will cover your butt, will you be in for a shock.
Comment by A Watcher — June 24, 2008 @ 10:05 pm
Oh Melanie. Not embarrassed, huh? Well you shouldn’t be embarrassed, but you might consider looking into adoption. My birth mother was 18 when she birthed me, and she had just started college, her boyfriend left her (thanks to me!), and she couldn’t afford anything beyond McDonalds if she wanted to eat out. So she did the SMART thing and gave me to some people who couldn’t have children. She said it was the best decision she’d ever made.
Do you hate your parents? Are you relying on them for revenge or something? I assume that’s what’s going on, since you couldn’t possibly afford to take care of this baby alone. I don’t know your situation, but unless the father is an older, wealthier man who intends to take care of you until you are old and your breasts sag, I feel sorry for your kid and your family. If absolutely NOBODY is helping you and you’re doing this on your own to prove a point of some sort, don’t. If the experiment fails, your kid is out of luck.
I’m not pro or anti abortions, but I would suggest adoption as a possible option. You said you raised one kid– whose kid are you talking about?? You realize that WATCHING a child and RAISING one are two different concepts, right? If you are helping some raise their kid because they are too busy to do it alone, that was only your time, not your money. And by raise a kid, what age are we talking about here? Did you send it off to college? I didn’t think so.
Adoption. ADOPTION.
Comment by Brooke — June 25, 2008 @ 12:52 am
I would like to add– I love love LOVE my adopted family. I couldn’t even imagine life without them.
Comment by Brooke — June 25, 2008 @ 12:54 am
I realize how harsh I sound in this article, as though there aren’t joys and blessings to parenting, there are absolutely some of life’s greatest treasures to be found in the lives of children, especially your own. But too many children are forced to suffer because of parents who are inadequate for the job. And by inadequate I mean ill-equipped, not some superficial economic issue. Plenty of wonderful people have been raised on very little.
But the pressure of single-parenting, and let’s face it, with a divorce rate over 50%, your chances of raising that child alone at some point are pretty high.
Kids need to be kids again, seriously. That’s part of society’s problems.
Melanie, I wish you luck, but more importantly I wish you hadn’t gotten pregnant so young.
Comment by D — June 25, 2008 @ 1:40 am
The only thing I have to say is everyone really needs to take responsibility for their actions and just stop trying to blame celebrities and movies. Parents of these little retards stop saying it was the media. You just have an irresponsible kid. People make their own decisions everyday and then try to blame it on the media or pure pressure. Well I’m sorry but if you say you got pregnant because a celebrity did or killed someone because you play violent video games well your screwed up in the head. Stop trying to make excuses!
Comment by Jenny — June 25, 2008 @ 1:52 am
The only thing I have to say is everyone really needs to take responsibility for their actions and just stop trying to blame celebrities and movies. Parents of these little retards stop saying it was the media. You just have an irresponsible kid. People make their own decisions everyday and then try to blame it on the media or pure pressure. Well I’m sorry but if you say you got pregnant because a celebrity did or killed someone because you play violent video games well your screwed up in the head. Stop trying to make excuses!
Oh and if it were up to me I would make people get a license to breed cause there are way to many people who should not have kids.
Comment by Jenny — June 25, 2008 @ 1:55 am
Melanie…Melanie…Melanie… I’m not going to be as blunt as some of the other readers. Looking at this situation fairly and objectively as a 25 year old, single male in the military I must tell you the vast majority of 18-21 year old people are not ready for child raising. I was once a know it all teenager… then I grew up, learned more…and the more I learned the more I figured out how much I dont know…At the age of 17 you really dont know whats going on…someday I promise you will look back at some of the decisions you’ve made and regret them. I would be willing to bet that my attitude about “life” was probably similar to that of your babies father when I was 17. Being a teenager is tough for you and the rest of the world. The truth is you made a horrible decision to get knocked up and the working class is going to support the single mother and child(ren). Ir not by welfare then by your parents roof. Get an abortion…my people can get with your people and we can set something up right across the border if youre in the final trimester!!!
Comment by Jayson — June 25, 2008 @ 4:02 am
I see stupid people are still breeding. Someone please toss a steamer in the gene pool.
I guess it is cool to be a hoe. Nothing like getting some assistance so those of us that actually work and do more than grunt at the correct times can take most of our hard earned money and support the majority of the dimwits.
Look at all the mindless looking for a free ride. I bet they expect their parents to help support the baby(s) because of course they cannot do it themselves.
Easy to make. Harder to raise.
What a nice example that is being set these days.
/golfclap
Comment by Noah — June 25, 2008 @ 4:51 pm
I’ll tell you what, when teens start to remember that this is the perfect time to start drinking heavily and experimenting with mind-altering drugs they will realize that they cannot waste any time on a gestating fetus. no no no time for that. if they dont believe that, tell them to watch baby borrowers on tv where other teens lives are ruined by infant presence.
Comment by Christopher — June 25, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
Well I’m a 16 year old mom with a 2 year old son. I’m still in school and I have a job to. I’m still with my babys father and he helps to. He’s in the Navy so we don’t see him much but he calls and sends letters. I’m doing to great. It’s hard and sometimes I wanna quit but I don’t regret anything. Good luck honey. It’s an amazing feeling to be a mom…
Comment by Amanda — June 26, 2008 @ 11:26 am
Thank god I didn’t experiment with sex when I was 14– too preoccupied with being a kid, because you only get about 20 years of that sort of freedom. Then it’s 60 years of being an adult… ick. I wouldn’t have gotten to do things like move to Tokyo, or go to art school, etc. Glad I waited.
Having sex at 14… I can’t even imagine it. I remember what we thought of the 7th graders who HAD had sex. We wanted details, but we ultimately saw them on the same level as dirt.
Comment by Brooke — June 27, 2008 @ 12:11 am
Well, being an adult isn’t so bad. The key, I’ve found, is to be an adult when you need to be, and be a kid when you need to be. It’s why I can go places with my teenage kids and have fun, yet still maintain a healthy, respectful relationship with them. I know when to be silly and I know when to pay my bills on time (most of the time, anyway).
However, I’m in my late thirties, and have had enough life experience to switch back and forth. When you’re young, and you have sudden adult responsibilities thrust upon you in your youth (as I did…not a baby, but other things), you lose a precious part of your life that you can never get back, no matter how hard you try.
Unfortunately, you don’t learn that particular lesson until it’s gone. On the one hand I am angry at the flippant attitude of girls such as this (and their parents for allowing it to happen), but on the other hand I feel sadness for them, because they truly have no idea of what is awaiting them for the rest of their life.
Comment by k — June 27, 2008 @ 12:44 am