Teaching Teens How to Be Parents

 New parents who also happen to be teenagers face an array of challenges that set their parenting experiences apart. According to Kelly Land, Transitional Program Manager at the Redmond-based nonprofit Friends of Youth, "taking on familial responsibility means [that they are] missing out on some aspects of their teen years. While developmentally teens are still exploring their own identities, as parents they have to be available to their children."

Several Puget Sound organizations offer programs that teach teens about parenthood. Land's program, for example, focuses on teens who were homeless when they became pregnant. Moms from this population are often dealing with multiple issues in addition to parenting, including physical and emotional abuse, poverty, drug use and homelessness. "Sometimes that responsibility [of parenting] saves their lives," Land says.

Education is a key component of teens being able to develop parenting skills and gaining access to family-wage jobs, experts agree. Without a high school diploma or GED, teen parents are less likely to become self-supporting. A good education also means that teens are more likely to read parenting books and also to read with their children.

Barriers to finishing high school include child-care availability, access to transportation and school hours that begin before babies wake up. Feelings of not fitting in can also cause teens to drop out. In addition, teen parents don't always understand the positive impact that education will have on future earnings. "I carry articles with statistics about income differences to motivate my clients to stay in school," says Carla Granat, Teen Parent Counselor at Seattle-based Amara Parenting and Adoption.

A variety of programs focus on helping teen parents continue their education. Tacoma's Oakland High School is home to a suite of teen-parent support services, including an Early Head Start program, a teen-parenting class in school and on-site child care. Early Head Start serves low-income families with children from ages birth to 3 and strongly encourages parents to finish school.

Housing is another major issue. Most teen moms live with their parents or the parents of their children's fathers out of necessity, whether that environment is supportive or not. "They get in arguments with their parents and get kicked out," says Arnold of the Rainier Beach Family Support Center.

While the challenges are significant, Granat stresses that teen parenting is not all negative. "They have a certain level of energy that helps," she notes. "Not knowing all the ramifications of having a child also provides them some resiliency."

Resource:

Laing, C. (2006). Teaching Teens How to Be Parents. Retrieved from the parent map website: http://www.parentmap.com/article/teaching-teens-to-be-parents