Babies themselves

On my way to pick up Louisa from school today, I bumped into my neighbour who's a childminder. I'd known that she'd been looking after a young baby so when I saw this sweet little baby girl inside the stroller she was pushing, I asked her how old is she now. She replied that she's 5 months old and has been under her care since she was 3 weeks old. My neighbour started explaining that the reason why the baby's under her care was because the little one's mother was only 15(!!!!) when she had her. She was still attending school then so had to look for someone to look after her. Not that I'm conservative but to be a mum at 15 is way too young. Some years back, I read in a local magazine about teenage mums. The youngest was only 12. Yes, when kids of that age in Singapore are preparing for their PSLEs. A lot of these young mothers find having a baby 'fun'. To them, it's like having dolls to play with. Physically, their bodies are not matured enough to have a baby and they're definitely not emotionally and mentally ready. These children should be enjoying their childhood and not be worrying about formula and diapers. Of course, most of the babies will be cared for by their grandmothers or be given up for adoption. But still, it's unthinkable for girls as young as 14 and 15 becoming mothers when they are still babies themselves. UK has the highest pregnancy rate in Europe. I often see many young mothers pushing their babies in pushchairs on the the streets. I guess many of them do not realise the full consequences of having babies that young.

2.5 years back, Adrian and I were volunteers for Children's Society. While visiting our ward at a halfway home one day, we saw a young girl with her newborn son. She and her friends were all coo-ing at the baby. I didn't despise her or anything remotely close to that. In fact I pitied her. She'd been forced to grow up faster than she should. I wondered if she fully understood what it'd be like being a mum, let alone at such a young age. Sadly, the baby boy was taken away to be adopted.