16 and pregnant...

[sweetpea03]

I'm just curious to know about how many people watch this show. Do you watch 16 and pregnant? or do you watch teen mom? Do you think they accurately portray what it is like to be a teen mother? Also how old are you? I'm looking for people's views on these types of shows. Any opinions/input would be be appreciated. thanks.

[sweetpea03]

The way in which a person handles a situation shows a lot about what they are capable of. It's possible to stand up for oneself and do it in a way that isn't defensive with large capital letters to prove a point. I'm only saying that you will always continue to grow and mature, which takes time. I'm 21 myself and have learned a lot by watching other people's decisions. I watched both of my older female cousins get pregnant young(in high school) and didn't want to do the same thing. I love children and want my own family, but I also put a lot of importance on education and life experiences(being able to do something on a whim before having a family(running off for a vacation), higher education, etc). I know all about getting nasty comments from people, but I take what the say and think about it. Then take from it as either something I can look into and go with or as something I don't agree with and just let it go. It's important to recognize why we make certain choices and see if they are good reasons. All too often people make decisions quickly without thinking them through and thinking about the consequences, long term and short term, for everyone involved.

[hiltonvslohan]

I'm not getting defensive sweetpea, im simply standin up for myself. No one else made a point to stand up for themselves after posting here except you and I respect that. None of the comments made here were hateful yes correct, but i just come back to talk. I don't say anything hateful as well. we all have our decisions in life and it will always continue to be that way. This will always be a an issue people talk about.

[Clysta]

I do have to agree that this isn't the only time or place you might get comments. I'm 21, married and I still get hateful glares and comments from people. Its a fact of life that you WILL criticized by people for the chooses you made stable or not. It's how you handle them that makes the difference. My husband works and has a good job, we only have one car (transmission in mine died) but I'm a stay at home mom. We don't struggle now (had a rough few months when I lost my job as well) and pay everything on time. Our daughter is well cared for and has everything she needs. This doesn't matter to people. I get called irresponsible by people I never have met before. No one is saying anything bad about what you've done or choose to do. They're just speaking from experiance. It's similar to what parents tell their kids to avoid them making a mistake they MAY regret. You might not. We don't know. In the end you could also lose everything. It's impossible to say and that's the risk that is taken. We're just saying you don't need to grow up fast. I did, and parts of me regret it. I never had a childhood and wish I had been smart enough to take advantage of living a little now. I'll never regret my daughter, but I know now it would have been much smarter to wait.

[sweetpea03]

I'm glad you're happy and think you can do all of this. Though your defensiveness on this thread leads me to think that your emotional maturity isn't all that high yet. You jumped to defend yourself when you could have just let the comments go, these are only people's opinions and experiences. They were not hateful comments directed at you or anything of that sort. You will get a lot of comments about being a young mom from people and need to learn to just let things slide without being super defensive. Also when I'm saying comparing apples to oranges, I'm talking about how you compared raising a sibling to raising your own child. And that is comparing apples to oranges, as they are different. You can have everything planned out in your mind about how you want things to go, but things rarely go as planned.

[hiltonvslohan]

We all get what your trying to say. WAIT WAIT WAIT. We got it. I got it. It's my life, Im not saying your wrong completly but your wrong for me. I love my life and I am very happy and proud of the choices I made. Its honestly none of your business what anyone does. Your not going to change mine or anyone else's mind when its made up. This is the life I wanted. The life I asked for. I'm not comparing apples to oranges. You don't know my life at all. You act like you do somehow but u dont even know my name. Your one opinion doesn'y apply to all situations. Now if i was 14 15 16 17 maybe even 18 still in highschool, still at home with my parents, no job, no savings, a car that my parents paid for, even with a job who cares, then iw ouldn't be having a baby. I own my house. I'm getting married (becuase I want to and love him, not cuz I'm pregnant). I OWN my own car. I have more life experience than most 30 yr olds do. For some people having a baby this yound wouldn't be right for THEM, but it is for ME. This is my choice to make about my own life and the life of my children.

[sweetpea03]

Life is hard, which is why it's a good idea not to put yourself into situations that make it more difficult. Also remember that when you say "people in the past have been doing this at your age or younger", that back then, even only 10 years ago, everything was less expensive, people had a shorter life span, etc. A decade ago is a lot different from today's times. Today it's extremely hard to make a good living without a college degree. Today we're in a recession and it's hard to find work. Products are more expensive to buy. Only 5 years ago, gas prices were a buck less than now. I'm not trying to say my way is the best and the only way to go, but you have to look at the whole picture. There isn't a need to rush into having a family when you have your whole life ahead of you. I love my boyfriend and would like to have a family of my own, but I would never rush into it. I like being able to live my life with him and finish my bachelors degree. I like being able to go on vacation and not have to plan it all around a baby. I would rather get married first and then start a family. I would much rather experience life more before settling down. My cousin is 30 now and had her first baby at 18. She really regrets the timing of when it happened and wishes she could have lived more. She missed out on a lot of experiences. There are so many things to learn and do that are much easier to accomplish without a child that I would hope everyone can experience. Just going to the store is a big task in and of itself when you have a baby or young child. I think as we grow up, we all think we know what life is all about and then we get older and look back at how we thought before and think, boy was I wrong. It's good to learn from other people's mistakes and listen to what others with experience talk about. We continuously grow and mature all the way through adulthood into old age. It's not a good idea to just think that you've been through something similar, so you can handle this. You can't compare apples to oranges.