An Unexpected Defence of Teenage Mothers

I was browsing some news on the BBC website when I happened across an article about a fellow blogger Labour MP Tom Harris. He wrote an article that most would think had come straight from the tips of my fingers attacking teenage mothers who are having kids because of a lack of ambition.

The BBC article was quite critical about what he was saying and all sorts of people were most upset by his opinions (http://www.tomharris.org.uk/) so I started out thinking that I had found a kindred spirit. After all I think he is right about some of the things he said on the surface. I think that many teenage girls do have kids because they're raised by parents who have have done the same and instill little in the way of community ethics or ambition into their kids or in neighbourhoods where this life is the norm and perfectly acceptable. Having a child does give some girls the opportunity of independence and an income which they might not achieve as a parent by becoming a member of the workforce depending on their ability and chances.

I started to think about it though and call me crazy but I started to see the other side and flaws in what he was saying. For a start, why is it unambitious to want to have kids. I started to wonder why the only kind of valid and seemingly socially acceptable ambition is to want to go out and work for a living doing a job, any job that most people I know are bored with after 5 minutes. Why has ambition come to mean simply going to work all god sent hours of the day for pay from which somewhere in the region of 30-50% is deducted before you even see it on behalf of Her Majesty and then probably somewhere in the region of another 20% or more goes on indirect taxes.

When did it become socially unacceptable to want or dream of having children? When did it become socially unacceptable to have children? I always thought that one of our most important (and fun) biological functions was to reproduce, to propagate the species, to survive. Most importantly, when did it become socially unacceptable to have kids if you're poor. This is the issue. If you are in a family who generates tax income for the country and can afford to pay for childcare then it seems that you're perceived to be better than a teenage mother and her whole family...regardless of how your kids turn out. That's wrong!

For many people, having children is probably the biggest sacrifices they will make in life. Children will be and should be dependent on parents legally until they're 18 and financially these days it seems into their twenties and thirties. For many parents it means the end of weekend binge drinking, eating out regularly at nice restaurants, holidays to exotic locations and spontaneity and self indulgence. There are lots however who don't want to make this sacrifice and if they don't want to make it then that is also an acceptable choice to make. What I get angry about is people who have made this choice pontificating about how all these single mothers are sponging on the state when they themselves are refusing to contribute to the human race and fulfil basic and necessary biological functions.

In a recent survey carried out by YouGov on behalf of YWCA it was highlighted that boredom and low self esteem were the main causes for binge drinking amongst young women. These findings in the report probably also highlight some of the reasons why young women are having children at an early age. However I am not sure that a university education and a £15k per year job at the end of it is the only way to motivate young women and raise their self esteem. What we need to do is to stop demonising single and teenage mothers all together and recognise that their decision, forced or calculated to make the sacrifices of parenthood can also contribute positively to society just as much as those who choose to run around like ants in the city for as much money as they can grab to spend on themselves.