Teenage pregnancy rates may be down, but they?re not yet at zero. I?m going to let H. share her quandary in her own words:
I?m the mother of a 17-year-old girl who recently came home to tell me that her best friend, a girl we?ve known since the girls were in middle school, who often spends weekends at our house, just discovered that she?s pregnant and is keeping the child. My brain instinctively decided that the girl would no longer be welcome in our home. However, I gave it further thought and had some frank talk with my daughter, who refuses to end the friendship because, as she says, ?Everyone else has ditched her, what kind of friend does that??
H. backed off on her initial protective reaction, and chose to join her daughter in supporting the friend. ?She?s not walking an easy path and I respect my daughter more for choosing friendship over opinions that don?t matter.? But H. is still worried about the impact the friend?s pregnancy will have on her family:
The sticky issue is twofold: 1) What do we say when the local gossip mill suggests our daughter is next, as if teenage pregnancy is catching? (Our daughter has already expressed her irritation with her friend?s lack of sense regarding safe sex.) 2) How do we broach to our younger daughters (ages 12 and 14) that it?s not nearly as ?cute? as they seem to think it is?
Any advice, comfort or wisdom for H.?
Source: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/10/parental-quandary-a-daughters-pregnant-teenage-friend/
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