16 and Pregnant

I am not a TV viewer. Nielsen would be disappointed in our household as the only shows that ever get watched involve cartoon characters or race cars.

However, after reading about the MTV show 16 & Pregnant I got intrigued. And after viewing one episode, all my stomach could handle, I got disgusted.

The show is filled with immature, pregnant teenagers who constantly whine that their social life is over and their boyfriends won’t change dirty diapers.

Give me a break. What did you expect when you had sex with someone? Babies are work. They cry alot, poop alot and eat all of the time. You lose the ability to go out whenever you want, taking a shower seems impossible and forget about sleep.

This show hit a nerve with me. My mom had me when she was 16 years old. She and my Dad, who was 18 at the time, got married and have been married to each other for 36 years. My Mom tells me stories of how she took me to school with her. She was determined to finish high school. So I went to school in a carseat while my mother finished her school work. My Dad had already graduated and worked three jobs in order to keep a roof over our heads.

I know my grandparents helped my parents. But not to the extent I see on this horrible show. There wasn’t whining or complaining. There was just doing. Doing what needed to be done to have a marriage, family and to keep the lights on.

36 years later I have some of the youngest parents around. And it’s fun to watch them be “young” grandparents to my two girls.  But I could never imagine what they went through to get me to the point I am today.  I don’t know how they made it work, except with a lot of love, God and family.

16 & Pregnant wasn’t a choice I was going to make.  And with our 3rd child on the way, I’m glad I waited to be older to have kids. Mother’s Day always makes me appreciate my parents even more. It couldn’t have been easy to be a kid having a kid. And I admire them both very much for not taking the easy way out and not whining about what happened.