While i do agree that you can't wrap kids in cotton wool and as you grow up you need to make mistakes, you still need guidance.
Just because a child is capable doesn't mean that its ok for a parent to let them do whatever they like especially if they are putting themselves in harms way. They are still children after all and i just don't believe drinking and smoking and having sex and getting pregnant at that age is right.
Of course i think Ork is right in that there's little point condemning someone over an issue like this when its already done, it will be difficult enough without being told you're going to fail but i don't think we want to be in a position where we're telling kids its ok to do things like this.
I agree pregnant at 11 is too young. I had my son at 18 & that was hard enough although I had my family supporting me. I'd be devastated if I ever found my children was doing anything like that at a young age. I suppose it's what u teach them
Scorpius12 wrote:
DavidB1986 wrote:
At the age of 11, having sex was something that never ever crossed my mind.
I was too busy riding a bike or running around playing in the woods and building secret bases!
And if I was ever caught with a cigarette or alcohol, I would have received a hiding that would have prevented me from sitting down for a month!
This all really falls down to a lack of education and discipline. Parents are responsible for teaching their children about the dangers of drinking, smoking and under-age sex.
I really have no words to express how sad this whole thing makes me. Childhood is becoming all to fast and fleeting. It really is a sad state of affairs, and parents of these children need to realise that it won't just end there - they have a responsibilty to protect their children. Who lets an 11 year old go out binge drinking and smoking? I personally feel that this should be classified as neglect and abuse and the parents of these very young children should also be punished and made to realise that their half-assed parenting is not acceptable.
PinkPolkaDot wrote:
Ork I understand the point you're making but surely you need to understand that these are children we're talking about. 11 year olds aren't allowed to have a job, why would they be responsible enough to have a child?! There is a reason all these guidlines are in place, I'm not saying parents should control their children and forbid them from being their own person. But come on, an 11 year old drinking alcohol and having sex? She's not going to develop properly.
There is a reason the legal drinking age is 18 - because that's the average age people stop delevoping and growing. Alcohol kills off cells, think about the damage those children are doing to their bodies. That girls hips probably haven't even developed properly yet she's already pregnant. Okay, technically her body is supposedly ready otherwise she wouldn't have gotten pregnant but I don't think that kind of stress is going to do her any good. And being this young she will probably keep smoking throughout her pregnancy. I feel sorry for her child. But then again I don't know her - I'm judging by the 11 year olds I know now and how my friends and I used to be at that age - and there is no way they'd be ready to be a parent. She hasn't experience enough to be able to bring a child up. How is she going to support her child when she can't have a job?
It just saddens me how this generation is relying and focusing on all the wrong things. Sex and alcohol rule everything.
+1 - Totally agree with both posts - well said xx
Agree with Scorp, excellent written and said everything I wanted to say. Disagree with pretty much everything Ork said too.
Also, kicked out of school, smoking, drinking, pregnant. A mum that is "proud" she is pregnant at her age. Where are Social Services? Too busy going after parents who smack their kids, shout at their kids and invoke suitable discipline no doubt!
Amazing only in this country do we celebrate 'statutory rape of a minor' and the parents aren't prosecuted for neglect and child abuse. I thought we had a social services department to deal with this.
I have my own views on what should happen to the child and the parents, which I am keeping to my self, as others will find them quite extreme in today's world.
I don't much speak to my family, I have on Aunt that I speak to, and one uncle out of a total of 10!
My cousion one of the ones I don't much see (I infact seen her on Halloween and she gave me a hug I asked who she was! Since she was about 13 when I last seen her) when she was 11 she fell pregnant with her daughter who is now 10 from what I gathered at the Halloween party, she also has another child who is 5. She is now 21 years old and has two children. As I said I don't really speak to them but my sister does, and she said my cousion was one of the best mothers she'd ever seen at the age of 13, she did everything for the child, had more patience then most mothers have at my age let alone hers and her and her daughter have the best relationship they're best of friends as well as mother and daughter.
I am in no way condoning it, because I do believe in a way she thrown away her life she's 21 with two kids, although she has a job it's nothing that she can rise in and has no exam results and everything, but in regards to her kids they are so polite and well brought up. So I think on the topic yes she was a kid herself, however she did an exceptional job at raising her children.
Also you've got to consider that years ago girls of 11, 12 ect they was married off and having families and that was a normal part of life. But with society going the way it is sex occupies a lot of todays younger generation far earlier than you would think and I think sex education and serious talks need to happen a lot sooner! I don't know if anyone has seen the news recently in regards to the sexual contact between children of the ages 10, 11, 12 and not all of it consenting! It's something that really needs to be sorted out!
My stepson is 10 and my biggest concern is that he won't switch off his I pad. How the heck are children that age out on the streets doing the things mentioned in the article.
It is totally the parents fault. My kids and my steps kids don't get to play out on the street. They have friends over for play dates. As they become teenagers they will gain more freedom but not before then because it is my responsibility to ensure there safety and know where they are and what they are up too.
I would love to know how an 11 year old is expected to go though the physical and emotional stresses of pregnancy and labour. Having vaginal delivered two children on only gas and air I would hope to god this child has a planned c section, but even then that will be a big terrifying experience for her to go through.
I can only imagine what the poor baby's life is going to be like. How is its mother supposed to learn to bring up a child, educate it , teach it good behaviour etc when she has lacked all of these things because let's face it, if she had the basic rules and education most of us have she wouldn't be in this situation.
Would be intresting to skip forward 14 years from now and see how this baby turns out or if it end up in similar situations
My stepson is 10 and my biggest concern is that he won't switch off his I pad. How the heck are children that age out on the streets doing the things mentioned in the article.
It is totally the parents fault. My kids and my steps kids don't get to play out on the street. They have friends over for play dates. As they become teenagers they will gain more freedom but not before then because it is my responsibility to ensure there safety and know where they are and what they are up too.
I would love to know how an 11 year old is expected to go though the physical and emotional stresses of pregnancy and labour. Having vaginal delivered two children on only gas and air I would hope to god this child has a planned c section, but even then that will be a big terrifying experience for her to go through.
I can only imagine what the poor baby's life is going to be like. How is its mother supposed to learn to bring up a child, educate it , teach it good behaviour etc when she has lacked all of these things because let's face it, if she had the basic rules and education most of us have she wouldn't be in this situation.
Would be intresting to skip forward 14 years from now and see how this baby turns out or if it end up in similar situations
It’s a sad situation