Hi there, I am Tina. I am now 34,but my mom had me (and my twin sister)when she was only 17. I loved my mom (and still do!). She did a good job raising me. She didn't have it easy. She quit school. She had to go back and get her education. She did, and did very well (all A's). She became a dental assistant and worked at an orthodontic office. We had less than alot of our friends, but we didn't go completely without. She later went back and got her degree. She is engaged to be remarried (was married to my dad for 13 years). She is happy. We had a good childhood, with lots of happy moments and some struggles too. If anything, she worked 100 times harder than my friend's mother's, but it only taught me to work hard in life too. Just wanted to give a perspective from that angle. Hope it doesn't offend or step on anyone's toes.

My mom was also a teen mom. She got pregnant right after turning 16. A lot of people think teen moms are doomed to be horrible parents because of their age but my mom was the best mom ever! I didnt always have everything i wanted but she made sure i had everything I needed! I am a teen mother as well and I hope that I can be as great a mother as she was and still is!

My mum was also a teenager when she had me, she did an excellent job.
I think teenage mums get such a hard time about it which is so unfair. Age really is just a number, and to the child mummy is mummy regardless of age.
Im 30 and having my first child,not because i wanted to wait but due to fertility issues. All my friends had their children when they were younger, and all are doing an amazing job.

My mom was also a teen mom. She and my dad married when she was 19 and he was 21. I was the flower girl. They had it hard, very hard, and struggled. I didn't realize there was a lot we didn't have. Kid don't know to compare themselves to others. When my mom was about 24, she went to nursing school and busted her butt, and ended up making good money. It's not all roses though. She's mentally gone now. A lifetime of struggle with no break (the time between school and becoming a parent is really some of the easiest time in non-little-child-life) just broke her.

I'll be the first person in my family's entire history to not be a teen parent. I'm 28.

My mom, too, got pregnant when she was sixteen and had my oldest sister when she was 17. My grandma had all her children really young too. One of my sisters was pregnant at 15 but had a miscarriage but ended up pregnant again right before she began her last year in highschool.

My mom had a very hard time. My sister michelle was born very very premature. She was in the hospital almost 3 months. And she almost died. Both her and my mom were lucky to survive the birth. After that, she had to drop out of highschool because her mom (my grandma) had to work 2 jobs just to support their family so she was never home. There was nobody else to care for the baby. She got pregnant not too long after which produced my other sister, Sandra.

Sandra got pregnant when she was 15, had a miscarriage so my mom put her on birth control pills. She didn't take them right always so became pregnant again at 17. She, too, had to drop out of school but got her diploma because we had a tutor come to our house every day and teach her for the last 2-3 months of school. It caused a lot of problems with her boyfriend. They tried living together, but he wasn't (and still probably isn't) ready to grow up. Issak is a gorgeous kid and he's a lot of fun. But my sister wasn't able to go to college. She had to support her family. And when she left her cruddy boyfriend, it was twice as hard to support herself and her children.

Today, my mom still never finished highschool and we make it pay check to pay check practically. She is a wonderful person, but she could have had such a wonderful life if she would have been more careful and prepared and waited. She would have been a great history teacher. But she had kids, kept having them, and now it's pretty much too late. She's entering her 50s and still has 2 more kids to get through highschool. My little sister won't graduate until she is almost 60.

My sister did finish school, but since she had kids one after the other, she never got a good chance to go back to school. She has 4 kids ages 10, 4, 2, and a newborn. She is a manager at a mexican restaurant in a nearby town. And she works all the time. When she comes home all she wants to do is relax and sleep. But she can't.

My family has been effected negatively by teenage pregnancy. I'm not saying anybody is a bad person. My mom and sister both had gorgeous children who are loved to death. However their children and even themselves could have had a much more enriching life than they have now. It's really not all fun and games. It's a serious thing and when you're not prepared, bad things can happen.

But not all teen mom's are unprepared for it, obviously. Not all mom's are bad. I just wanted to share the negative side effects it has had on my family.

this is a great post! Thank you for sharing from another POV. <3

My mum had me when she was 20 but got pregnant at 19. I had a great childhood. The first few years were hard on her, she was stuck in an abusive relationship with a guy who used to be physically and mentally abusive towards us both (not that I remember) but she got the strength to leave and eventually found the man I now call my dad. She got out of a job she hated and has since become a teaching assistant and is happier than ever. It may have taken a while but she loves her job, she has a loving family... she has had it rough like a lot of teen/young mums but it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel

My mom had be just after turning 16. I actually like having a younger mom because they can relate to you more, although there may be more arguing growing up! I don't think she would recommend it to anyone else being that young. She is just lucky that my Grandma helped her out so much. But I feel she did as best as a 16 year old can do

I just wanted to say thanks for a great post and thread. I wasn't raised by a teen mum- My mum was 28 when she had me after 2 years of trying. But my Aunt had her first child at 16. Both of us have grown up equally loved and cared for by both our mothers and family. My Aunt is still with the same man some 35 years later and Chantelle is a mother of 3 (she also had her first at 16). All of her kids are doing marvellously well at school and no-one can fault anyone.

I personally think everyone has it in them to be a good parent or a bad parent, no matter how old they are. We have a choice, and what choice we make has the biggest impact....whether or not to love our children.

This is my first pregnancy (I'm 25) and I already love this child so much, and that's all you really can do! You don't have to be considered grown up to be able to do that.

I think this is a briallant post! thank you for sharing your experiences. its great to get it from other peoples point of veiw
My mum was 18 when she was pregnant with me and had me when she was 19 and already married to my dad and still is, and she was still quite young when she had my brother hes about 2 year younger than me.
I like to think me and my brother have had a really good childhood and i have been brought up well. my mum had been brilliant and i am very close to her.
i dont think it matters about age when it comes to being a good parent, its about taking responsibility and trying your hardest for that baby x