Excuse me, ma’am? Yes, you. The one wrinkling up your forehead when my kids and I get too close to your kid on the playground.
And hey, doctor? Yes, you. The one who treats me totally different than the 40something mom who came in your office before me. I think you need to hear this too.
I’ve got a couple declarations to make and I’d appreciate if you’d sit down and listen. There’s a few things I want you to know about young moms like me:
1. We aren’t dumb. Let’s get that out the way first.
2. We are “real parents” like everyone else you may meet. We care about formula vs. breastfeeding, organic vs. nonorganic food, stroller vs. babywearing and all those other decisions parents have to make. We care.
3. We do not all resent our children and pass them off on whatever relative is willing. I’m talking to you, Michael Baisden.
4. Yes, we have sex. That’s okay. (I can’t tell you how many Twitter fights I’ve gotten into because someone says young moms should close their legs forevermore. It’s insulting and completely unrealistic.)
5. We are on a journey and we’re okay with that. We might not have been where we wanted to be when we had kids, but we’re on a journey to find ourselves. And our kids are witnessing our growth.
6. Speaking of our kids, they don’t know how old we are “supposed to be” and they don’t judge us like you might. They love us whether we are 16 or 26, 14 or 34.
What would you add to the list?
I love this! I give young moms an extra handclap because it takes a little something extra to find your own way in the world while raising a tiny human to be a kind, smart, self sufficient person.
Motherhood is hard, and all mothers should be cut some slack. What kills me is, mothers are often the hardest on other mothers! What kind of sense does that make? You’ve been where this mother is and you’re judging her?
SMH
I agree with Auntieof2. Other mothers are harder on other moms, and doctors just want to make me scream. We do care about our children, and we are not ashamed to be young mothers.
Yes, yes and yes! Short and to the point and are you serious at #4? Wow!!!
Aunty of 2, I completely agree. Tara, I love number 1! I’d also add ‘just because we had them young doesnt mean we dont have the same hopes and dreams for them’… : )
There’s so many I’d add!
7. We’re not all on drugs or had our children because we were on drugs or partying. A lot of us are even Straight Edge which means no drugs or alcohol PERIOD so there’s a good chance that some of us drink less than you do!
8. We’re not all at odds with our ‘baby’s daddy’. Some of us are still together with him and some of us are still friends even if we’re not.
9. We’re usually very nice and we might just have something in common! So many older parents seem to shun younger parents because of these stereotypes and a lot of us are genuinely nice people. Even though we might be a different age, we might share a lot in common but you’ll never know that if you pre-judge and refuse to talk to us just because we’re a ‘teen mom’.
Well said!!
Oh snap! Love this!
Amen! And heaven forbid if we have more than one kid–totally irresponsible then!
I love this! I totally know how you feel.
I absolutely love this post!!! It’s everything I think about on a daily basis. This really hit home. Thanks!!
Young mothers deserve a break from their children just as anyone needs to be refreshed. We also deserve to spend money on ourselves because we tend to our children’s needs everyday.