Teen Moms Shouldn’t Be Shamed, But Recognized For Their Hard Work and Dedication!

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Teen moms are often shamed instead of being supported. In today's world, everyone is stuck in this bubble that teens aren’t “supposed” to be pregnant or even having sexual intercourse. If you are a teen mom you’ve already been considered a failure. Teen moms need support not judgement.

According to Tara Culp-Ressler, “A celebrity-studded national campaign tells teens that being a mother is incompatible with being successful.” The media is choosing to make this a negative thing. Why don’t we talk about the mothers with great careers supporting their child.

For example, the model Nikki Taylor became a mom to twins at the age of 19. The small age gap between her and her kids made their bond greater because it felt like they were friends. “We like the same music and movies and we think the same things are cool,” she told mom magazine. “We just look at things kind of the same way.” Nikki Taylor is a teen mom with already a successful modeling career.

Simultaneously, “New York City advertisements tell teen moms that they will be poor and their boyfriends will leave them,” Tara Culp-Ressler stated. This is a typical stereotype that many people believe about teen mothers.

Sofia Vergara is a perfect example of a single teen mom with a successful acting career. Sofia Vergara had her son, Manolo, in september of 1992 when she was only 19 years old. Although Vergara has admitted that being a single mom is hard at times she also said that there are some benefits. “When I had Manolo, I was 19, and I had the energy for everything,” she told Redbook.

Moreover, Carla Mercedez is a victim of being shamed because of her decision to be a single teen mom. “As I was on my way home, a group of women just kept staring and shaking their heads at me like in shame. When it was time for me to get off one lady yelled that I should’ve aborted my baby because a baby can’t raise a baby,” Carla shared during her interview.

Many people criticize teen moms and tell them they’re better off aborting their child, instead of showing support.

Society has this idea that teen kids are babies when in reality they’re young adults still learning from their parents and growing. Many teens know how to use protection during sex and others chose not to. We know the consequences and we are mature enough to say “You know what, I chose to have unprotected sex and I take responsibility for it. I knew what I was getting myself into, I will raise my baby.”

I am 19 years old and have a beautiful 2 month old baby girl. During my pregnancy, I had people in my ear all the time like: “are you sure you’re ready for this? Do you think it’s the right decision for you right now? What if your man leaves you after, can you do it on your own?” It made me sad because even my own family would ask me these things and I thought they would be happy for me. Instead they were trying to scare me into getting an abortion. I realized during my pregnancy that yes i’m ready, yes I can take care of myself and my baby while I focus on school and I wouldn’t have a child with a man that I thought would leave me after birth. When I found out I was pregnant, I thought long and hard if I was mentally, physically and emotionally ready to raise a child on my own.

In short, I came up with the response to myself that I can raise my child because what a baby needs is her parents love and affection and that is free, so to the critics that think being a teen mom is hard and revolves around money, it doesn’t. Raising a child as a teen mom requires all the love you can give to your child whether you have money or not. I love my daughter and i’m raising her just fine with my partner, so don’t ever let anyone coerce your choice in being a teen mom. Women do what men can’t do. We make and carry life inside our womb for 9 months. Teen moms rock!