So, lately, I’ve noticed that most of the people I either graduated with from high school, or people that are maybe one or two years older than me already have at least one child. Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to have children – I really do, but I want to start my family when I’m older and more mature as well as more financially stable. People my age are having kids either right out of high school or in the middle of their college years, which baffles me completely because if I even think about having a baby right now I freak out.

I keep wanting to be alright with it as I know that millennials my age are better at taking care of their kids at such a young age, but every now and then I see posts from those my age with kids that just make me want to roll my eyes and save their children from the life they’ve given them.

I’ve seen parents who are in their late teens or early twenties who have one or two children and still continue with their lives of partying, drinking, and hooking up with random people at bars or clubs. These are the people I think should not have kids because most of them live with their parents, have no jobs or have a part-time minimum wage job, go out partying every other night, and do not take proper care of their babies.

You know these people, don’t lie. You see their pictures on Facebook or Instagram of them drinking way too much for being a new parent, take selfies half-naked with weird poses, and also have many pictures of their new boyfriend instead of their new infant. I feel like a grumpy old lady when I say this but, if you decide to keep your baby after getting pregnant at a young age, at least try to be more responsible and mature with your new child and quit the teenage behavior and adolescent actions. Parents need to grow up along with their children, and many people my age who have kids don’t. Even if you get pregnant at a young age you can still finish high school, go on to higher education, and get a great job while teaching and parenting your child.

I have seen people my age doing a great job raising their babies and going to college and making everyone around them proud. But the people my age who have kids and end up being nothing and doing nothing with their lives are more prevalent, and I really wish it would change.

Millennials have a duty to prove to older generations that we’re doing better than they did at our age and this includes parenting. I know we, as a generation, will be better parents as long as people who are being irresponsible or immature step up their roles as young parents.