Your Teenage Daughter Is Pregnant - How Should You Respond?

The shame and guilt surrounding teenage pregnancy often makes young girls panic when they discover they are going to have a child. Families in the past responded with anger, disdain, rejection, even punishment. Some mothers say, "Since you think you're a grown woman, get out! Get a job, support yourself and your baby!" Boys who father babies are totally at loss as to what to do when their girlfriends or even someone they are casually dating winds up preganant. The society is experiencing the effects of two or three generations of teen mothers, thrown out of the house and forced to figure out how to raise children on their own, and venting their ignorance and frustration on the children. Verbally and often physically abused children are todays emotionally unstable adults who cannot manage a healthy personal relationship, because the inner wounds damaging their self esteem continue to surface. Much of our society's problems are rooted in the way we deal with teen mothers. What about if its your daughter? How should you respond? Were you once a teen mother? How did your parents handle the situation? What should they have done differently?