bubbalicious: the place for young parents

I do hate how people judge young mums, i know from where i live, everyone stares you up and down and thinks that you are sleeping around with anyone you can get, and automatically assume your a bad parent. I guess i know it doesn't help as a few teenage people do purely get pregnant for a house and benefits well atleast i have heard of them doing so around here. I just wish people could see that sometimes things happen, and just because it happens when your young it doesn't mean your a bad parent. I mean 100 or so years ago, almost every teenage girl would be married and having children and working full time anyway, i don't understand how that view could of changed so much!

I hate it when people judge young parents, only because they're young doesnt make them rubbish parents because some young mothers are actually better than older mothers because they can still relate to they're young children. Im not saying that being a young mum isnt hard especially when you only 14 or so as you've probably got a lot of growing up to but that does not make them bad parents. I was 18 when i had my baby and i found it incredibly hard but im still a good mum. And i argree with everyone else everyone who judges young parents are just narrow-minded and stuck up! <3

Narrow-minded people who believe everything the media says; including how they protray young parents are the sort of people who think this, and i feel sorry for them for being so naive. Young Parents are no different to any other parents & in some cases do a damn sight better than older ones.

I absolutely hate being judged. People constantly judge and it really annoys me! I had somebody admit to me they thought I was a slag until they got to know me.. In actual fact, me and my partner have only ever slept with one another and all. I know of mothers older who have done crack infront of their kids and everything. It's nothing to do with age, it's about how good of a mother you are!

People who judge us before they know us are stupid. I mean they see us all as 'slags, tart's a kid' That's not it at all, if you think a raice chinease are they all exactly the same because there chinease, do they do the same things every single one? No. I have a fair share of mummy friend's and everyone is with there partner or have broke up because of not getting along but they still see there kid. The stero-typical name of us is silly i had my fair share of comments from people while i was pregnant, as i got the 'she's just fat because shes a kid she cant be pregnant' I was 17 with a huge bump were they serious?! Iv learnt to ignore them and everyone else should too, were all great mothers no matter the age!

People who judge us before they know us are stupid. I mean they see us all as 'slags, tart's a kid' That's not it at all, if you think a raice chinease are they all exactly the same because there chinease, do they do the same things every single one? No. I have a fair share of mummy friend's and everyone is with there partner or have broke up because of not getting along but they still see there kid. The stero-typical name of us is silly i had my fair share of comments from people while i was pregnant, as i got the 'she's just fat because shes a kid she cant be pregnant' I was 17 with a huge bump were they serious?! Iv learnt to ignore them and everyone else should too, were all great mothers no matter the age!

I agree with what everyone has being saying.. I think people who judge us are just silly really, its our choice at the end of the day we will do what we feel is right, have our babies :D. I think personally its better to have em young, everyone has there own opinions people are entitled to em. Just aslong as your a good mum, age shouldnt matter.

just becasue you a tennage parent does not mean you are automatically a slag. im pregnant at the moment and my boyfriend and i have been together just over a year. he is the only person who i have slept with so no one can really call me a slag becaus ei have not slept around and that is what a slag is. x

i think people judge you on thier own standerds whcih with some people is very low!! it doesnt matter what age you are as long as you love, and care for your child why isit anyones busniess?

its not your age, its your ability as a mother - andd i don't understand whyy its a big deal?! alsoo whyy we are labled as "slags", and i find this happens alot on the bus don't ask whyy lol - the nurse was round to see my Josh abit ago (cause he was poorly and had been in hospital soo it was a check up really) and she said "soo you live with you mother, yes?" and said it as if i wasn't aloud, old enough or capable anough to have a new house of my own with my boyfriend, it really offended mee, soo i rang and complained! leave them to it, we know we'r great mums!

i think some people's views of teen mums are true but we are not all the same! i hate it when they stereotype us !x

There is a lot of stigma which comes with being a "young mum". As soon as I found out I was pregnant one of my biggest fears was the way people would look at me and you know what they are thinking in their head. Luckily so far I have not felt looked down on by my midwife and I am only 4 months so it is hardly noticable I am pregnannt. I also have only told two of my closest friends as I am scared what people will think of me and my partner. It's silly as you shouldn't worry but you can't help it. I think it's also the reason younger people find it so hard to tell their parents as in society it is viewed as wrong or a girl sleeping around or being a slag if she is pregnant and young. I suppose the only thing you can do is the best for your child and prove eveyone wrong x

when i first found out i was scared about wat people eould think of me friends and midwifes and doctors nt very nice but when i gt my bump and my first scan i was so proud i love my baby and my bump and it my life not theres its happened and its our chose wat we do i love my lill boy more then anthink in the world and i wouldnt change having him for no1

i was so concious at first because of how people judge you but now i show my bump off cus im going to have the best thing in the world who i would do anything for and im sure they couldnt do a better job im proud to nearly be a mummy :) x

Connorsmummy has got it spot on :)

i often get dirty looks from older people when im on my own with my 2 children! i dont know what is going through there heads, but they look at me like i should be ashamed! i love my children and give them the best i can, along with everyone else here, its very frustrating that no one will even give you the time of day to find out what your life is like!

I agree with everything said here, but at the end of the day who cares what other people think! All that matters is YOUR baby, and as long as you love, care and give him or her the best possible life, then thats all that matters :)

i hate people judging us teen mums they should give us a chance!!!!

i fell pregnant at 17, i was with my partner for a yr and half before , ppl can say wat they want... if they wana call na,es at u let them an dont retaliate an then they will get bored of it and give up x

I was always broought up to respect my elders when i fell pregnant at 16 a good amny years ago i lived in a small place and it was rare to see someone so young pregnant, i was snubbed at ante natal classes , excluded from mother and baby meetings , pushed out of the way and given disaproving looks , it saddens me to see that the elders we are supposed to respect are narrow minded , many of these older ladys will have had a child at 16 , 17 or 18 the only difference wil have beem they where married and there lifes mapped out as a house wife cooking and cleaning ,i feel many of the older generation are actually very jelous when they see young mums having fun with there children , looking good and having an opinion as they where never allowed these things , i think all young mums should be proud and in turn there children will be too !!

i totally agree!! i walk down the street and u can see it on peoples faces! esp cos i look younger then i am! until u really know a person u cant judge them! its hard enuf bein a mum at times we dont need stupid comments to make our hormons even more crazy!! :S x

people look at young mums as slags who are after everything they can get of the state... an elderly lady was once very rude to me on the bus it wasnt too long ago... she kept giving me dirty looks and tutting i was getting more and more annoyed so i asked her calmly if i had done something to upset her and she laughed and said in her day i would be locked up and then she had the cheek to call me a slapper and said i only had babies to get free money...i got quite upset but just told her she was narrow minded and that i have never been on benefits and that i have only ever had 1 boyriend and that is the childrens father and im still with him! i told her she was a rude nasty old lady ...i hate people that think they can judge me when they dont know me me and my partner work hard to pay our bills and give our children good start in life! ok maybe we should have waited to have children but i got pregnant and we dealt with maturely and responsibly ...what crime have i commited???

I completely agree.... people's attitudes need to change!

i think people should stop judging teenage mums most of us are just as good if not better than the older ones. just cause were teens dont mean we neglect r children! i just disagree on teens living off the state

I do Peer-Ed talks (talks to high school kids about being a young mum) and you'd be surprised how many of them by the end of the talk say things like "You're not at all how i imagine a young mum" and oh "so your not a slag then" when i tell them i've now been with my partner 7 years! So the way adults or other people view young mums definitely rubs off on the younger generation....It doesn't matter what age you are, it's just a number! I'm pretty sure there are some 35 year old mums out there who've never held a baby! In fact my HV told me it's usually the older mums who "over react" and take their baby to the doctors saying things such as they're ill when in actual fact they're teething, but they haven't noticed the signs!

I hate that young parents get slagged off so much, the presumtion is that we sleep around when in fact the first relationship i had lasted 2 years, and the one im in now with the babys father has been just over two years, Im doing well for myself i got my a-levels im doing a degree and my boyfriend isnt just a little 'pot head' hes 21 and hes been working for 4 years as a sheet metel worker with his own house. Theres no reason to believe that young mums only have babies to get a house or benefits, thats ridiculous. Im not a slag. just because im young doesnt mean i can't be a good parent. I think the only reason woman aged 40 get slagged off for having babies is because for womn over 40 years old the chance of having a baby with downs syndrome increases by 50%, otherwise, why should age determine how good a mother you are?

I was part of a teenage mother and baby group when my son was younger and we made a film on what its like being a young parent, especially with all the prejudice. I couldnt believe the cheek of some people and I generally found older people to be the most nasty in their comments! I made a t-shirt that was shown at a conference on Teenage Parents with the slogan Teenage Mum Doesnt Mean Bad Mum. I get really angry at the assumption that we've only had kids for benefits/housing/to trap our boyfriends or that the baby will have a bad life because we are young parents! Just because we have a 1 by our age doesnt mean we are worse than a junkie mum of 43! xxx

It bothers me sometimes, feel awkward at groups etc (well did at frst), to be honest t's their problem being so ignorant, wouldn't want to be like that! However! Think there are some young mums who don't d us justice! Saw a girl the other week telling people to 'f**k off whilst pushing a baby'....that doesn't exactly move away from the sterotype, that said there are older mums who behave the same....but they're not being stigmatised.

Its so wrong that young parents are judged so much... I agree with the comments posted, theres no right or wrong age.

Theres stigma around both young and older mums. So please tell me what the right age is to get pregnant. I think its a load of bull. Theres not right or wrong age, I got really annoyed when I was pregnant, I would be walking around town and people would stare and snigger. I almost felt like turning round and telling them where to stick there comments ecxept I am a better person.

Age is just a number, it doesnt determine how good a mum you are

'Just because I am young it doesn't mean I am wrong.' Here here.

Young Mums Deserve More Credit..! x

I love the last comment on this article. I think it sums it all up perfectly. All mums should be respected!

I like that finally there is an article that shows that all teenage moms aren't just looking to get something out of our pregnancies and that these girls aren't just whores walking around.

People judge everyone, not just young parents - but they are the ignorant, narrow-minded ones.