The trials and tribulations of teen parenting

20 Feb 2009 09:32p.m.

Sasha wrote:

Anita , i would like to say in reply to your comment 'Young women should not be having children'
and 'the childs father is usually not in the picture'
well DARLING , there are some circumstances where this is not their choice . I am 15 and i have a daughter . I go to Eden campus. Olivia is my frien .
If you would like to know about som of these circumstances , please read my article that was in new idea in august .
And maybe you will gain some knowledge . As you do not seem to know much !
http://nz.lifestyle.yahoo.com/b/new-idea-nz/1891/true-lifewe-take-our-babies-to-school/

20 Feb 2009 01:25p.m.

Elle wrote:

Part 2; The Govt need to wake up and realise that most benefits and any accommodation supplement or family tax credit still don't measure up to the rent rates, power, food, and especially not moving houses,pram, cloths, bottles and nappies etc. It is completely unbelievable. I am now 21 and am 28,000 in debt. So what now? Bankruptcy? I was having suicidal thoughts this Christmas time, knowing I couldn't afford a present for my 2 and a half-year-old son and thinking that we were going to have to go back to living next to gang members and druggies in the "ghetto". If it weren't for the Wellington City Mission, my lovely aunt and uncle (who took my son for Christmas Eve)and some good medication from my doctor, I wouldn't have made it through to the New Year. So now what? I get to regret the decision not to have an abortion? Agree with Anita? And then at the same time think that I am somewhat of a success because I got an education? Am "able" to get a job and raise a good kid? Happiness is something I never
understood until I lost sight of it. I will be crawling out of a financial hole for many years and we can be part of that "low" socio economic group that has a higher chance of everything negative occurring and I can go on thinking, well… At lease I have done really well as a teen parent? YEAH RIGHT - finances are a problem for all single mothers and low income families.

19 Feb 2009 10:11p.m.

Elle wrote:

Anita, most Domestic Purposes Benefit’s are not claimed by teens. And our taxes are being spent on way worse than a few thousand young woman and their kids. What is it for a teen parent to become "successful” as Jahn asked? I thought being successful was doing it on my own, NOT leaning on my family and focusing on raising a positive and productive member of society. Obviously I got it wrong! So what is a successful teen parent? Is it to have gained a secondary and tertiary qualification? Get a good job? Have a well-behaved and healthy child? I thought that was a good start. I was working, almost qulifyed and living alone when I fell pregnant at 18. Was then made redundant and had to find suitable accommodation.. and fast, many thanks to housing NZ. I attended a teen parent unit (so as to not feel like a complete "BUM" and “waste” tax dollars, as people like Anita also think). I completed NCEA level 2. I then went on to complete my level 4 Business Certificate. All the while getting in more and more debt (as any benefit I was on didn’t cover the real costs of having a child). I just kept myself going by thinking, “it’s only temporary”. I moved out of the HNZ "flats" becuase I thought when I get a job i'll be able to afford it and I don't want my son growing up next to P-heads. I then worked full time and (after a year) realised that I was barley any better off financially. So decided to go to university and get a degree so to get more money (in the end). Only to find that a training incentive allowance doesn't cover even my bus travel let alone books etc.

19 Feb 2009 08:05a.m.

anita wrote:

Young mums increase the tax, tax payers have to pay to keep young mums. In a world of information young women should not be getting pregnant. And the balance of family is all out of wack because these mums usually don't have the child's dad in the picture. Do not feel proud of yourself for having the babies. Just make the future better for them

18 Feb 2009 10:47p.m.

Samantha wrote:

i just want to say that Annalise Myers spoke amazing words!! she was spot on!! fantastic to hear somebody with more positive views toward young mothers! i became one myself at 17, i had wanted to become a vet since i was about 9 so falling pregnant presented a few problems.. after looking into my options i did correspondence school while i was pregnant then went back to my old high school part time to gain university entrance (and even level three in the end). now i have moved to palmerston north and am about to begin massey university, aiming toward a new degree, bachelor in vet technology and i will head toward vet school when my son is older and not as dependant on me.
please note, i had to use the schooling options i did because the teen parent facility in Wanganui would not cater for me as i had already gained level two which was all they offered and they couldnt get funding for me since i had "too many" credits. so i carried on alone schooling with peers mosty younger than me and kept tp myself so it wasnt untill the end of the year they began finding out i had a child. my high school was very welcoming and were more than happy to assist me in continuing my education and i am very greatful for all the help they have given me! (Wanganui High School).

thank you for the more positive approach to teenage parents, it was nice to see there are other young mums out there still achieving!