RESPONSIBLE

PARENTHOOD
 Predict the short-term and long-term impacts of
Predict teenage parenting;

Determine the value of providing safe and

Determine appropriate living conditions for children;

OBJECTIVES:
Identify knowledge, skills, and personality traits
Identify necessary for the appropriate care of a child; and

Formulate a list of skills that demonstrate

Formulate effective parenting.
INTRODUCTION

At any age, becoming a parent is a life-changing experience. Regardless of

family background, socio- economic status or educational attainment,
parenthood places demands on one’s life that do not exist prior to the birth of
one’s child. As they say, “you’ll never be ready for parenthood.” Imagine yourself
being a parent at your age now. That means being responsible for the life of a
helpless and dependent human being, having to sacrifice your personal time
and space for his/her sake, supporting him/her physically, financially, and
physiologically, etc.
INTRODUCTION
More so, when adolescents like you become parents, the
challenges and responsibilities can be overwhelming for you,
especially for teen parents who lack support from their parents.
This experience can be even more frightening as you may
desperately seek support in adult- oriented systems, which even
older parents find challenging themselves. This lesson is designed
to give you a glimpse of the challenges and responsibilities of
teenage parenting.
 I DISCOVER
Certain life conditions make some teenagers more
likely to have a child than their peers. It is important for
us to clarify that being labeled as a “flirt” is not all
together fair for some teenage mothers because
sometimes the situation of a person is not her fault but
the effects of a certain life conditions which she happens
to have. Raising Children Network (2010) identified the
following life conditions:
• Having regular family conflict
• Experienced childhood violence and sexual abuse
• Having a young parent for a mother
• Not having a stable housing arrangement
• Performing poorly at school
• Coming from a low socioeconomic background
• Having an absentee father
• Having low self- esteem
• There could be a host of reasons why
teenagers have sex and consequently get
pregnant. However, compared to older
couples, they are more likely not to use
birth control and some of them think that
they are not going to get pregnant, or in the
case of boys, will not get someone
pregnant. Because of their youth, some
even have romanticized ideas about having
a baby. These, among others, are the
reasons why teenagers are more likely to
get pregnant and to get someone pregnant
than older people.
 THE FOLLOWING ARE THE SHORT
AND LONG-TERM CONSIDERATIONS
OF BEING A TEENAGE PARENT

• TIME: Babies are high- maintenance beings.

They need round-the-clock care. Make sure
parent/s has/have enough time to take care of
his/her/their child if he/she/they plan to have a
baby. Some teenage parents cannot give their
children enough time because they are busy
trying to cope with the rest of their life.
• FINANCE/COST: Supporting an infant is
expensive. Unfortunately, about 80% of teenage
mothers are unmarried and have dropped out of
high school. They lack the educational
attainment to get a high-paying job in order for
them to support their children. Furthermore,
getting affordable and appropriate childcare is
almost impossible in today’s society.
 THE FOLLOWING ARE THE SHORT
AND LONG-TERM CONSIDERATIONS
OF BEING A TEENAGE PARENT

• EDUCATIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL

IMPACT: Getting pregnant and getting
someone pregnant in one’s teenage
years often means that one will have to
sacrifice his/her education. Because of
the demands of parenting, it could be
hard for young parents to finish their
education or find a job. Coping with the
demands of being a parent, the
responsibility of school, work, and social
life can be really exhausting.
 • The leading cause of dropping out of school in
In addition to the teenage girls is pregnancy
previous • Eight out of 10 mothers do not marry the father of
their first child.
challenges, the • Seven out of 100 children are at risks of poverty
following are the when: the parents are unmarried when the child
was born, the mother gave birth as a teen, and the
results of studies mother did not receive a high school diploma.
conducted in the • Sons of teen moms are twice more likely to end up
in prison than anyone else.
United States • The children of teenage mothers are more likely to
focusing on be born too early and not weight enough
compared to children of older mothers. This raises
teenage the chance of infantile deaths and many other
medical problems (America’s Promise Alliance,
parenting: 2012).
 • Twenty- four babies are being delivered every hour by

In the teenage mothers.

• 14% of filipinas aged 15 to 19 are already mothers or
Philippines, pregnant for the first time; that is more than twice the
rate recorded in 2002. Furthermore, most of the
according to teenage mothers are living with their parents and is
most cases the father of the child is also a teenager.

the 2014 • The Philippines has the highest rate of teenage

pregnancy among the members of the Association of
Young Adult Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) and is the only country
where the figures are rising according to United

Fertility Nations.
• Unplanned sexual encounters or getting caught in the
Sexuality heat of the moment; lack of information on safe sex;
peer pressure; family-related issues; lack of good female
(YAFSI) study: role models are among the reasons for teen-age
pregnancy.
• It has been said that parenting is the
most difficult job and the most
important responsibility one will ever
have in his/her life. Unfortunately,
teenage parents are far from being
ready, financially and psychologically,
for the responsibilities of parenting.
The following are • NURTURE THE CHILD’S SELF-ESTEEM. Praising
characteristics of a child is one of the most important tasks any
parent should perform. When a parent/s
effective parenting praise/s his/her/their child, it builds up the
child the feeling of security within
himself/herself as well as personal satisfaction.
• CATCH THE CHILD BEING GOOD. When the
child knows that someone has paid attention
and has encouraged him/her with positive
response, the child is more likely to developed
confidence. Positive consequences can take
the from of short term rewards such as sweet
treats or extended TV time to long term
rewards such as gifts and trips to play centers.
The following are • SET LIMITS AND BE CONSISTENT WITH
characteristics of DISCIPLINE. Being a successful parent means
being consistent in setting limits. It tells the
effective parenting child that his/her parent/s is/are serious and
reliable. Furthermore, a parent/s must be
consistent in what he/she/they want
his/her/their child to do and not to do and
what behaviors he/she/they punish. However
punishment should only be the last resort and
never be used when a parent/parents is/are
angry.
• MAKE TIME FOR A CHILD. Spending time with
one’s child makes him/her realize how
important he or she is to you. It is a basic
understanding even for children that the
amount of time his/her parent/s allot/s doing
a particular activity indicates the child’s
importance to his/her parent/s.
The following are • BE A GOOD ROLE MODEL. Children
characteristics of imitate the behaviors that their parents
have consistent performed in their
effective parenting presence. He/she/they should not expect
his/her/their child not to shout or scream
when his/her parent/s is also guilty doing
so. Setting a positive example should be
one of the main goals of any parent.
• MAKE COMMUNICATION A PRIORITY. A
parent should have a game plan or a
strategy for teaching his/her child how
he/she is expected to behave.
He/she/they should exert less effort in
punishing by telling the child specifically
how he/she/they want him/her/they to
behave.
The following are • BE FLEXIBLE AND WILLING TO ADJUST ONE’S
characteristics of PARENTING STYLE. Different strokes for
different folks. Each child is unique; therefore
effective parenting one parenting style might do wonders for child
but may not do anything for another.
• SHOW THAT LOVE IS UNCONDITIONAL. Avoid
saying things like, “Mommy only loves good
boys”. Or “Daddy will love you more if you
behave well”. Or “If you do something bad,
Mommy will no longer love you”.
• BE CALM IN THE MIDST OF TURMOIL. Staying
calm is an important part before applying any
positive or negative consequences to a child’s
behavior. Some children will test how far they
can go and parent/s has/have to prepare
themselves for times like these and learn to
keep his/her/their cool.
I RESPOND
A. THINKING ABOUT TEENAGE PARENTHOOD
1. Enumerate three life conditions which increase the likelihood a teenager will become a parent.
a. ______________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________
2. Enumerate three consequences of teenage parenthood.
d. ______________________________________________
e. ______________________________________________
f. ______________________________________________
3. Enumerate five characteristics of effective parenting
g. ______________________________________________
h. ______________________________________________
i. ______________________________________________
j. ______________________________________________
k. ______________________________________________
I RESPOND
B. THINKING ABOUT WHEN TO BECOME A PARENT
For students who have never had a child…
1. I want to have my first child when _________________________
Because ________________________________________________.
2. I do not plan to have any children because
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
For students who already have a child….
1. I plan to have my next child when ___________________________
Because ________________________________________________.
2. I do not plan to have anymore children because
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________.
After completing the sentences, answer the following:
2. How strongly do you feel about your answers? Why?
3. What will it take for you to achieve these plans? (remember to make a SMART plan).