teen pregnancy

This post comes from watching too many episodes of 16 and pregnant.  It’s the only reality TV show I watch other than intervention, and both are interesting and sad.  I find it very intriging to see how these children process such a large “mistake”.  A few seem to figure it out, but so many end up in a complete tail-spin… and yet it’s a preventable situation in so many ways.  Being responsible about sex, for one, but also after getting pregnant making the best decision for THE CHILD, or at least getting guidance and planning advice so there is an ounce of preparation for a child.
What I hear most often on the show when these kids are making the decision between adoption, abortion and raising a child are: “I couldn’t have an abortion.”  “I don’t believe in abortion.” ” I couldn’t give my child away.” “I don’t want a stranger rasing my child.”
And what really comes to the forefront is the constant use of “I” and “my”.  In the end most of these teens decisions seem to be selfish.  It’s about what they want with almost zero consideration for the child and the HOW they will raise them part.
I know you cannot make someone accept abortion as an option, nor can you force someone to give their child away; however, they just don’t seem to think about what is best of their unborn kids.  And this is in spite of them continually saying they want something better for thier baby.
The decisions would seem more sincere if you ever saw any planning.  But you don’t see these teens reading and researching what they need, or what it means to be a full time parent, or how they will monetarily manage having a child and making that “better future”.
Most of them appear to think that they’ve made the hard decsion~ that they will keep their baby and raise it together.  And that is absolutely not the hard part, actully there are tones of much harder things coming their way: maturing enough to be a good parent, paying for a child, combining work/school/parenting/life, keeping a healthy relationship with your partner, and just plain being a mom or dad forever.
So many wait till the baby is out before they even start to figure out how they will schedule child care, or how they will get money for the baby, or what that money even needs to buy each month.  It’s frustrating.
It’s frustrating because a child has been dragged into this confusion and mess.