Teachers and parents are constantly telling us statistics concerning teenagepregnancy stressing how difficult it is to raise a child. Ironically, they neveremphasize what that child may face when "he" gets older.

I am18; my mother gave birth to me when she was only 17. A baby is not a doll. Ibelieve some girls my age have a baby because they want someone to love and lovethem in return. My advice is to get a puppy, because the baby is going to growand so are the bills. That cute, helpless baby is going to develop a mind andhave beliefs that its parents may not agree with. Young parents have to realizethat a child is not a carbon copy of themselves. If they are not mature enough torealize that their child is an individual, the results can be devastating.Sometimes girls have a child because they engage in unprotected sex. If they arenot even responsible enough to practice safe sex, how can they be responsibleenough to care for a child?

I have a younger sister and brother and weall live in a five-room apartment. My father us unable to work because of aninjury. My mother works at Stop and Shop, making only 50 cents an hour more thanI do and she has three children and a husband to support. The money just neverseems to go very far. My mother has been unable to pay her rent for six months. Iguess we would have no home if the landlord were not my grandfather. A big partof our problem is my father who became a father when he was just too young. He isconstantly putting us all down and blaming us for his problems. He is upset withhow his life has turned out. We do not get along well, so I hope to live with mygrandparents. My mother is torn between her children and her husband.

Ourfinancial situation places a tremendous burden on everyone. Since my mothercompleted her sophomore year in high school and my father only graduated fromhigh school, neither can get a job that pays enough to improve our standard ofliving. In today's society, education is essential for a well-paying job. If youbecome a parent at a young age, it becomes very difficult to go to college.

Parenthood should be left to responsible adults, not naive teenagers.Having a child should be a privilege, not a burden or a consequence of carelessaction. I don't blame my parents because I know they always tried to give me allthey could, but at times they become frustrated and blame me for their troubles.It took me almost four years to realize I was not at fault and that I had just asmuch right to be in this world as everyone else. Because of my parents, I had lowself-esteem and performed below my ability at school. Then someone opened my eyes toshow me that I was not stupid or worthless, and I could go to college to pursue acareer, accomplish my dreams, and learn from my parents to help me lead a betterlife.

A baby is not a doll. He requires much more than any teenager cangive. So the next time a teenager thinks she wants to have a baby, she should sitdown and think about what she really has to offer a child. Most importantly,teenagers should stop thinking what they want and realize that they could berobbing their child by bringing him into this world when they are incapable ofproperly caring for him. Both the parent and the child will pay for this wish tohave a baby at the wrong time. c