Teenage parents

If you’re a teenager or young mother who previously lived with your parents, or carers, you now have to also get used to doing housework, cooking, ironing and other household tasks. You are now faced with the responsibility of doing the job of two parents whilst coping with your own feelings associated with adolesence versus adulthood.

Do take time for yourselves and acknowledge and examine your own feelings, do not be totally focused on your children. Try to keep continuity with friends and activities or go on short breaks/holidays with other lone parents. For more information on low cost short breaks and holidays see Holidays & Fun.

Don’t be disheartened; life does not need to feel so strange and daunting because you have embarked into the unknown (parenthood). Just view it as a new experience as everything else has been in your life – you just need to get used to it.

We’ve had to get used to so many things before in life, for example, beginning full-time school, starting a new job where we had to learn new skills, doing exams, each of which has its degree of uncertainty as to what to expect and what it means to you. If you think about it now, you know you could come up with at least five more events where you may have felt ‘I’m not ready for this’, then realised you were, or thought ‘This is too difficult’, then realised it isn’t, it’s just hard, which means all you need is guidance and support.

Ask for help, share with others that you are unsure on any aspect of your life. Look out for lone parent groups and mentoring programmes offered in your area, they can provide a wealth of support for you and your children.

Keep smiling – although it may be the hardest job in the world, encompassing all aspects of life, it is also the most enjoyable and loving thing TO BE A PARENT.