Thinking Aloud

I don't need a third baby.  I need to give my baby-care desires an outlet that will help the teen moms I heard about today on the radio support to keep their babies and stay in school.

Now, how to do that?

Comments

[leah]

do you know about this program? http://www.christopherhouse.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ourprograms_teen

Side question. When did nat first sign more or her first sign I mean? Do you recall? thanks!
leah

[Emma]

Yes yes yes.
I'm hoping to do this, too.
There's a program in my area called Mentors and Moms that's run by the county Cooperative Extension. I'm thinking also to try to put my name out there with various contacts who are in social services.

Maybe you could even contact your adoption agency, and offer yourself as a resource to people who contact them but then decide to parent?

[Life in the Bend]

My mother-in-law used to live down the street from our Fancy Pants university and let a couple of pregnant young women and then their babies live with her and kept their kids in her daycare. I think that's a lot more than most people can do, but I still think it's very cool that she did that.

I'll be reading others' responses with interest because we have many, many pregnant teens at my high school and I worry about them and their kids a lot.

[marta]

One of my dreams for down the road is to open our home (or more likely part of a rental property we're hoping to buy) to pregnant women considering adoption, so that a basic lack of resources doesn't prevent them from making a real choice between adoption and parenting. I would love to then have folks like you who wanted to offer support beyond the immediate post-partum period for women who chose to parent.

of course, this is just one of too many dreams and schemes I have -- who knows if it will ever happen! right now i have my hands full with just the two kids i've got!

[Karen]

I was going to suggest the same thing as Leah - offer to mentor the moms at adoptive agencies who decide to parent - I know the agency we worked with had more women parent than not.

There are also programs out there for teens in foster care - that focus on preventing teen pregnancy and give the teen an adult to stay connected to once they age out of foster care. There is a huge need to connect aging out teens with caring adults so they are not just cut loose into the world alone.

I totally support your sense of re-directing your baby energy this way - you will be of great service to others. And what a wonderful example for your children.

[Karen]

Sorry - it was Emma - the name is UNDER the post...

[alice]

Christopher House seems (from my *quick* perusal) to be wonderful. Free babysitting, mentoring and just overall moral support are probably some of the greatest gifts you can offer. Thank you for making me think about this again.