Lately, I’ve seen so many negative posts about young moms. I think it’s time we set the record straight with some true/false statements.
All young moms got pregnant by some loser in high school. -FALSE
While teen pregnancy is sadly on the rise, this is not true of all young mothers. Some of us got married at a younger age, and wanted to start a family sooner than others. Some of us might’ve not been planning to get pregnant, but ended up having a baby anyway (and wouldn’t trade it for the world). I’m not trying to bash moms who do get pregnant in high school. I have a few friends who did, and they’d all tell you that becoming a mother was the greatest thing that ever happened to them.
All of our babies have different daddies, and we have tons of “baby daddy issues.” -FALSE
Again, there are people that I see on facebook who have some serious drama/issues with the father of their children. Then here are those who chose a great guy to have kids with, who wants to be involved in the life of their child. There are moms who had a baby with a different man than their first baby, and there are moms whose children all have the same father. We don’t all belong on Jerry Springer. We don’t all have “deadbeat dads” as the father(s) of our children.
We are missing out on a “normal” life for someone our age. -TRUE
I’m 21 years old, married, have one baby, and another on the way…and I’m so beyond happy! Most (not all…but most) people my age are out drinking, partying, sleeping around, or in meaningless relationships with people they don’t plan on marrying, just because they want someone to hang out with. People my age are so desperate for attention and affection, they’d give up who they are just to be someone else’s idea of “perfect,” only to have their heart broken or crushed a few months/years later. that’s what a “normal’ life is for the average 21 year old right now. So yeah, I guess you could say I’m “missing out” or that I haven’t even had a chance to live yet. Honestly, I’d rather spend my days cuddled up on the couch with my husband and my baby while we watch Disney movies, rather than going out and partying into the wee hours of the morning. Let’s be honest, nothing good happen after dark…that’s why your parents gave you a curfew while growing up.
We’re all just a bunch of unemployed, uneducated housewives, mooching off whoever we can. -FALSE
Most of the young moms I know are also some of the hardest working people I know. I call it the “Mama Bear Instinct,” when we go out of our way to do absolutely everything we can for our kids to have the best life possible. Some of us are stay-at-home-moms (myself, my sister, and several of my friends included), and we all have our reasons. I tried working, but it was soooo hard for me to leave my daughter every morning. I felt like I was missing out on all her firsts. I felt like someone else was raising my baby. The only time I really had with her was the 20 minute car ride to and from the sitter’s house, 2 hours before bedtime in the evenings, and weekends. To all the working mothers out there, my hat goes off to you. As far as calling us all uneducated, well that’s simply not true either. It may take us longer to get our degrees due to the fact that we have children, but at least we’re doing it. While I was at Bible College, I was exhausted from working a full time job, and going to school full time as well. Now that I’m a mom and going to school at the same time, I know that it’s way more exhausting than when my only responsibility was school and work. Now, I have a husband and baby who need me (along with our dog, cat, and 2 beta fish), a home to take care of, online classes to take, and still trying to find time to study…that added responsibility can be quite overwhelming. Guess what? You’ll never hear a young mom complain about it. Cleaning their house gives their kids a safe, clean environment to grow and play in. Making dinner for their husbands (or significant others) just means there’s one less thing for their man to worry about after a long day at work. Staying up to study or do school means that one day, they’ll have a degree, and will be able to have a job that enables them to provide for their families in so many ways.
You can look at an 18-25 year old woman and see all the negatives that people circulate through social media. Then again, you can look at her, smile, and possibly even give her a few words of encouragement. Being a mom is one of the hardest, yet most rewarding opportunities that women are given. Looking down on mothers who started their families at a younger age than what you think is appropriate…well, that’s just not nice.
My Life as Mommy and Wife 