You know the stereotypical soccer mom, driving an SUV and drinking her Starbucks. In this stereotype, the mother is always older. She is never in her early twenties with a young child.
Young mothers are constantly shamed. You see them in Target, pushing their shopping carts with their young children. People give them dirty looks and think they are beyond stupid.
How could a young woman ruin her life like that? How could she give up everything for a mistake? How can she afford to care for a child?
Her baby is not a mistake. There is a difference between unplanned and a mistake.
You don't know her story. She could be married and starting her family. The couple could have a reproductive problems and wanted to have children while they had the chance. You don't know their story, just like they don't yours.
Most young moms are working and going to school and trying to survive. She's doing the best she can and she's not doing any worse than other moms. She's working to pay bills, just like older moms. She's going to school to better life for herself and her child. She's learning to balance more things than some mothers. Her problems are not the same as your problems. They're different, not bigger or smaller.
We should be more understanding and realize that they are just trying to love their children. Stop looking at young moms in the grocery store and at the park and thinking that they are struggling. They are enjoying the best part of their lives, raising their beautiful children.
