bubbalicious: the place for young parents

i personly think it is a good idea, it is giving a mother of a younger age the independence and responsibility to live on there own to bring up their child, i think some poeple may abuse this idea however one of my friends was placed in one at the end of last year and she says it great, she can do what she wants and when she wants and is her own boss, she hasnt got anyone looking over her shoulder and judging how she brings up her child!x

unless its a hostel for young mums then i don't think its a good idea for young mothers to be having to stay in hostels with her baby as its not a good enviornment.

me and my girlfriend and are baby girl lived in one , it was so horrible ... my girlfriend was suffering from anxiety and spent alot of time on her own as thats what she needed they presured her to go downstairs and one even laughed at her calling her a silly little girl coz she didnt want to leave the room , not only that but the other girls picked on us and stole are stuff! making having a child twice as hard .... they did a lot more to :/

I think it is great that girls have that opportunity :) it is nice being on your own but a lot harder. :)

hey i 17 with a 11 months old baby girl we currently live in a hostel with my parter (her father) we have all been here a while now , there not as bad as you might think, its really nice here :)

im dreading the thought of being put in a hostel but i'll do whatever it takes to make sure that me and my baby are in a safe environment x

I think it is a bad idea to put young moms in hostels.

I think it's a great idea as there would be people in similar situations in the one place, which would build up a support network. Plus, It would stop those naive teenagers who think they can just get pregnant and get a house.

i think hostels for young mums is a bad idear cuz just makes it look like we avee done somethink wrong cuz it woulod be just for young mums! :/ x

i think hostels for young mums is a bad idear cuz just makes it look like we avee done somethink wrong cuz it woulod be just for young mums! :/ x

i think its a great idea to bring in places for pregnant teenagers and young women to talk and be around the same people in the same situations.x

No i dont think its a gr8 idea at all really, i live in a supported housing project for teenage mums its great its not a hostel its a flat u do not share with anyone, and u go to parent groups sometimes ( in the building they have a dinner night to help out, and you have a key worker its gr8 and im 16 its basically like livin on my own with sum support basically they dont help me cook, clean, look after my child they help in other ways.

some women may need help but som may not if u need help the go see someone if u think u can do it alone try it then if u cant ask for help no one is goin to think wrongley of you for asking for help x

I moved into my own house about a month after 18, yes maybee 18 seems alot older than 16 but its not, i coped perfect, i do not think a mother and child at any age should be in a hostel nono

Assesment based i think this would be a good idea. Assesment being how much support they will get, their age (more to do with maturity though). I do agree letting them just go it alone is perhaps not a great idea

when i had my baby i didnt want to move out or get my own place i wanted t stay with my parent because i have more suport and it is hard work i know i wouldnt be able to afford it buh most people get pregnant for houses from the council from my town but i know it is no point going anywher i went away without my parents other day for a weekend never felt soo lonley (my opinion) XkirstyX

i didn't go to a hostel or have a council house, me and my boyfriend worked hard, i lived with my parents and he lived in his flat (which he rents himself, not the council) until we could afford a house which we rent ourselves, no help from the council. and i'm only 17 haha, and he's only 21. and i was pregnant at 15!

i think it gives teen mums good support but they should get an option for example if they have support from family or babys dad then they should be housed but should be cheaked on regulary x

I think what he means is most mums jus get themelves pregnant so that they can get a house, and i have even hurd someone sayin they were going to do this on the bus once!! But for some this is not the case, but to be honest i dont think that it will make a difference to the statistics.

ive never lived in a hostel and gettin my own house made things so much easier. having your own space is great and you friends nd family could still cum visit you to help you out so u wouldnt necessarily be on your own...X

Me and my boyfriend are waiting to hear wether we have got in to a hostel in portsmouth as our application was takern in to the pannel on the 2nd of march, we are really worried that it will be a nasty place to live, and our unborn daughter has a serious heart defect and we will be in hospital for 3 months wilst she undergoes 2 operations to her heart .... we really dont want to have to go through all that and then end up in a place that could be putting her at risk... can u tell me about your experiences in hostels, thanks x

well the hostel i good because will not feel as much on you own you might have someone too talk that might mostly might in the same situation as you and you feel less alone

The hostel i was in whist pregnant was discusting & had all sorts of drug addicts & alcoholics! The council are riddiculous & don't care where you are as long as it has a roof regardless of risk to your safety!! Xx

i think its stupid when they say that becasue that does not happen. it takes ages and there is so much to do. most people are better off finding somewhere themselves.. private renting. most people are on the council list for years so its hardly being given keys straight away becasue your pregnant!

I dont know what hostals are like but it doesnt SOUND like a place for a baby, but im not sure x

I suppose it depends on the individual really if they feel they can cope by themself or they want the support from other young mums x

I think there are some really immature girls that get pregnant and benefit from these hostels BUT most young mums I know (including myself) coped better than some 30 somethings... yeah the company and more experienced new mum-friends would be good, but you can't stay there forever annd I feel a child needs routine, needs to know it's home, it's bed and everyone they live with, not to be up-routed again a few months down the line!

I have a split opinion on this. I have heard several bad comments from people living in hostels but then there have been positives as well. I was lucky as I had the support from my family so they would have had me living with them if this was in force when I had my daughter but luckily it wasn't and I was able to get my own place. I think it is a good idea for teenage mums who don't have the support from family and are all on their own but changes need to be made, They need to be made more friendly and supportive of young mums, at the minute most of them aren't. I don't think it should be just for mums 16-17 either. If it a teenagers hostel then it should be open upto the age of 20! If you then have mums over the age of 20 their are other hostels around but they should be made more suportive and friendly as well.

Completely disagree with this - Labour just want to get votes from people who are see teen mums as a problem....

if i knew anyone who was my friend or was on here and was close to my house and living in a hostel, i would take them in, just to make sure they have a good meal and feel wanted.

in a way i think its good. for girls that dont have a family behind them supporting them at least they have their own independence and are able to bring up their child however they want but also some of the things you read about these places makes you feel sorry for the people that do HAVE to stay there without a choice as they have no where else to go and no other support.

my friend got pregnant and went into a hostel and stayed there til she gave birth then she got moved to another hostel an stayed til her baby was 15months old then she gt her own flat, the hostels wernt very nice i went twice to c her then started telling her to come to my house it was that bad...

it all depends on the mother but yeah hostels are a good idea if they changed the way they work... lukily i have never been in a hostel but not veryone has a supporting family ...i think it would be a good way to give the mum alot more confidence rather than heres the keys to your council flat good luck!

I don't think it's a good idea...they have to share bathrooms and kitchens between them and have rotas for who goes in when- what if your child is alseep, you just miss giving them a bath or have to wake them up?! I think it's unfair. Alot of my friends in hostels get depressed as they feel they have no freedom, they have curfews, which yeah is good because they might wake other peoples children up but why should they have to follow rules other people set because they became a parent young. I do however feel that some young mums could do with more support and possibly take life skill classes or something to help teach them, but i think this should be optional!

I also think it can be a good idea when used with the right mums. It can be hard going from being your your parents to having to handle rent, bills, food shopping etc all on your own if this helps with that its a good idea!

I think the thing that young mums need most is support and if the only place they can find support is in a hostel then thats fine but i dont think this idea will suit everybody xx

I think sometimes 'hostel' style housing for young mums is good because of the support but sometimes that is not the best option for that person. It comes down to the individual. And young mums hostels are not very supportive of young dads and wont let them live with you, thats why I refused to move into one. Why break up families then moan about single teenage mums?

"From now on all 16- and 17-year-old parents who get support from the taxpayer will be placed in a network of supervised homes." What about the parents younger or older than that. The way I understand this is that they will have to move into these homes, reguardless of if they atually need or want to, but parets who don't fit into that age group cannot. It should be done on a needs-assessment, not by age

think it's good to have there as an option, for young mums who do need the support etc. BUT think it lends itself to the stereotypical young mum, a lot of us do fine without this! And who's to say there aren't older mums who need something like this just as much?

I wouldnt go in a hostel, i think for really young mums who would need support then yes but i think everyone should have a choice

i think it would be an alright idea, but it's the areas they put these hostel's that i feel would be a problem.

Not sure whether i agree or disagree with this or not. I dont think i do but im not sure why lol xx

I think this could be good, but perhaps another idea would be to educate young mums on how to become independent and feel more confident in themselves as parents.

I think this may be good for REALLY young moms but some can grow up and do things perfectly on there own. I think it would need to be a case by case situation not a house everyone up type of thing.

i think this could be really good for really young mums who just wouldnt be able to cope on their own. having other mums there to be able to socialise with and go to for support is much better than just giving them keys to a council flat and letting them go it alone!