They find themselves having to grow up overnight and becoming a parent while their peers are still experiencing their teen years. This is part of being a teen parent. They have so much growing up to do in a short time and so much to learn.

Learning household responsibilities is a very important step in this process. Learning how to cook will be a necessity since they will most likely not have the extra monies for fast food and eating out. Along with cooking comes, food safety (how long to keep food before it ruins, how long to cook things, cleaning and preparing food), shopping while staying on a budget, cleaning, etc. Learning how to do laundry and other household cleaning... more

Can being a built in free daycare when the mom has to go to school or built in babysitter when she wants to go out, teach the teen mom responsibilities? Are does it give her the idea that someone is always around to take up the slack or that this is how it will be when she is on her own?

A foster parent should not be providing child care for the teen mom without the teen mom having any responsibilities for this arrangement. If the teen mom works she should be paying for the care of her baby. The amount can be $10-$20 a month for child care. It is not about the amount but the... more

Foster Parents Parenting Pregnant Teens or Teen Moms

Yes, these teen girls are still teens but with adult responsibilities that they have to learn to accept to be a parent to their children. I do understand that there is a part of us (foster parents) that see these teens as just that, and feel they need to be allowed to be teens. The teen mom has decided that she wants to parent her child. Her being and doing teen things need to come after her parenting responsibilities. This... more

Foster parenting pregnant teens can be challenging. It is left totally up to the foster parents to find their way in parenting a teen mother. Finding resources for these young teen mothers can be a nightmare. Personally I do not think the weight of all of this should fall on the foster parents but that is how the system works now.

I have been asked how to help parents, foster teen mothers. There are not across the board answers for every situation but I will try to give some thoughts and ideas in this type of foster parenting. This will be a series to address foster parents... more

Oh, what a mix. Pregnant teenage foster girls are on the rise. Some teens coming into care are already expecting while others become pregnant while in foster care. This adds a whole new twist to foster care. Some states are trying to move away from maternity group home programs.

In most states (not all – check with your state) foster teenage mothers are required to have their own rooms that they can share with their baby. Just because you are fostering the teenage mother does not mean the infant is in foster care. Minor children living in foster care retain the same legal right to parent their children. In some states, foster parents do not get reimbursement for the infant that is... more