To be captain obvious here. If I had children and one got someone or became pregnant before 25 or

[RB TexLa]

so, that would be a clear indication I had failed as a parent.

[Inspired]

1. You are joking, right?

[RB TexLa]

2. No

[robinlynne]

3. Unless of course you are a crazy fundamentalist who doesn't teach your children

how to use birth control!

[midnight]

11. You live in a wonderful world where every thing is to your plan.

Congratulations. Just a reminder to you and others who think this is everyone else's experience-It's not.

[robinlynne]

40. what? birth control has been around for years. People like Plain insist on removing sex

education from schools. My mother taught me not to get pregnant until it was a planned decision, i.e. after school, didn't yours?

[flvegan]

4. Nice, I got in early

:popcorn:

[HCE SuiGeneris]

8. !

Bwahahahaha! Brilliant!

[cliffordu]

70. ME TOO!!

:popcorn:

[KitchenWitch]

143. Can I buy you a beer and share your popcorn?

:beer: :toast: :popcorn:

[Marr]

5. If you decided to pretend that child was yours and hid the actual

mother during her pregnancy, you'd be a very weird parent, yes.

[Zero0Maru0]

99. Trig is Bristol's for sure!

Final evidence that the baby is Bristol's

http://palinmotherinlaw.blogspot.com/

Copy the image, send it to everyone and spread the word! Give Bristol her baby back!

[disgruntled98]

141. Total crap. Trig is Sarah's child

The odds of having a Downs Syndrom child at 16 are 1/2500. At 45 it's one in 25. You might wish to see when the My Space account was opened. I'm sure it's fake.

[Clear Blue Sky]

6. Hard to be a perfect parent.

I wouldn't be happy with this as a parent either, but who said life is perfect?

[OmahaBlueDog]

7. Before 25?

Before 18, maybe.... but 25?

Personally, I'm encouraging my daughters to have their kids in their early 20's before permanant drowsiness sets in.

[RB TexLa]

10. They might want to think about getting a career or business going

[Warpy]

14. The male model isn't necessarily the best one for women

[tburnsten]

120. Got that right

Maybe some of us would like to be active with our kids and able to keep up with them when they are in high school. Maybe some of us feel comfortable doing both. It is the year 2008 and schools are very accomodating of students' schedules. Maybe some of us don't feel that the mother doesn't need to stay at home 100% of the time and can share child-rearing responsibilities with the man of the house.

And maybe the OP is a douche.

[OmahaBlueDog]

18. People work and raise kids

We waited, and we wish we hadn't -- that's all I'm saying.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

9. Key phrase: "If I had children"

In other words, "I don't have a clue but here's my opinion."

Parenting is always a lot easier until you actually have children. :eyes:

[RB TexLa]

15. You've never run for president? So you will not be giving any f'n opinions on it right?

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

30. No, Captain Obvious, I have never run for president.

I was just responding to your insinuation that someone whose kids have children before the age of 25 is a failure.

[Sal Minella]

16. I was a world-class expert on parenting at one time, but then had a baby.

Blew it all away. And after three, I felt I knew even less.

[cobalt1999]

34. So true.

After our second child, I was a truly humble parent.

[HubertHeaver]

41. Yes, children do have a way of humbling a person....... N/T

[redwitch]

86. Part of your brain disappears with each kid.

That's why I stopped at 2. :-)

[wtmusic]

128. I was so much older then

I'm younger than that now

:thumbsup:

[Crabby Appleton]

12. Obama's mother was 18 when she gave birth to him. nt

[Dorian Gray]

116. Well

according to RGBolen, her parents were a total failure, then.

LOL.

It's such a ridiculous OP.

[Warpy]

13. The safest years for pregnancy and childbirth are 18-26

and it's no personal failure if an 18 year old has a baby in or out of wedlock. She's doing what her body is telling her to do at the time it is safest for her and her baby.

The failure is when a daughter who should have had access to complete information about sexuality is denied it by a right wing education system that pushes religion instead of fact and a family that thinks prayer will somehow trump biology.

The failure is when a family sets itself up as a moral arbiter in denial of human sexuality finds out that human sexuality asserts itself no matter how much everybody loves Jesus and refuses to alter its ridiculous opinion that ignorance is protective.

The failure is when they want to make their crackpot religious ideas into public policy for people who don't share them.

[shraby]

19. My sis-in-law is a registered nurse..got

her degree in the 1960s and she was taught then that after age 30 a woman's risk of having something wrong with her baby goes up higher every year.

[ColbertWatcher]

64. Well said. n/t

[carlyhippy]

17. surely you can't be serious n/t

Carly

[OmahaBlueDog]

20. Wait for it......

[RayOfHope]

21. So if one of your 24 yo kids chose not to use birth control one time and happened to get

themself/someone else pregnant, you would consider yourself a failure as a parent?

Well, I would consider you a failure for having this stupid view. :eyes:

[KarenS]

22. well, then,,,,

by your definition, I am a failure as a parent and my Mom is a failure and my GrandParents are also failures,,,,

Thanks for your 'insight'

[TexasObserver]

23. If you had children, you wouldn't say things like that.

[REP]

146. My mom has two, she agrees with the OP

Blows that theory of yours.

[Ghost in the Machine]

24. ummmm,.... yeah, ok. I've been a single father for 13 years

my daughter just turned 16 and my son will be 15 in 3 weeks... I've told everyone for years that "if I can just get them to 18 without them getting locked up or knocked up, I've done a great job"...

Would I love them any less if she got pregnant or if my son got a girl pregnant before then? Hell no.. I'd support them 100%. I've raised my kids to think for themselves, to be individuals and to take responsibility for their actions.

25 huh? Just how authoritarian are you??

[RB TexLa]

25. Wanting one's children to suceed in life isn't being authoritarian

I bet most people don't want them to murder anyone in their 30's or 40's either. That's not authoritarian, it's the same thing, wanting them to have good lives. Also doesn't change loving or supporting them.

[Ghost in the Machine]

26. Realizing the limitations of what a parent can control is the key, though...

You do the best you can with your children, but you have to understand that you're not responsible for what they once they become adults, nor can you dictate or control their actions and/or lives. To think that the actions of an adult reflect back on their parents and how they were raised is just preposterous.

[tburnsten]

121. I don't even know what to say

Other than that not a single person on the planet cares about your ridiculous judgement. The way you place supreme importance on not having a child in order to be successful defies reasoning. Are you aware that raising a child is about the most fulfilling thing known to man? Do you think that the neighbors opinion of you matters more than your childs' wellbeing?

I pity your children, if you ever become a failure oops parent.

[BlooInBloo]

27. It would be a clearer indication that abstinence only education failed.

[ColbertWatcher]

65. THIS! n/t

[Phentex]

28. Nice post, James Dobson!

You have no idea how many people you just insulted.

IBTL

[Connie_Corleone]

29. So, my grandparents failed as parents because my mother got pregnant at 19?

Your statement is idiotic.

[kdmorris]

31. Guess my parents are failures, too, then.

And my grandparents.

My mother and father got married when they were 18 and 20 and had their first child a year and some odd months later, when they were 19 and 21. Hell, they had all of us before they were 25, since they decided to have all four of us and get it out of the way. I guess my Dad was 26 when my little sister was born, but my mom was still under 25.

I had my first daughter when I was 18. Had all three of them by the time I was 22.

Having a 17 year old pregnant daughter is NOT one of the things that I blame Palin for. Thinking she can control the rights of the rest of us and being a proponent of abstinence only education (which hasn't worked, apparently, for her daughter) are what I hold her accountable for.

I cannot believe you would even post this crap.

[RB TexLa]

32. Didn't say I would judge others the same. I said I would consider myself a failure. Others set

their bars where ever they wish, based on what they think is best.

[Tulum_Moon]

33. Sounds like you just

judged a whole family. Funny how some on this board become when the do choose to judge others.

[Wednesdays]

38. No, the OP argument is in favor of Palin

By building a straw man.

[dems_rightnow]

90. Well then....

...... don't say "Captain Obvious". When you use that you're saying that it's so obvious that it does not need said.

The fact that you would put stupidly ridiculous criteria out there isn't obvious in the least.

[RB TexLa]

98. You think there were parents today who became sad about their daughters not being knocked up at 17

after hearing about the girl in Alaska? You think people were saying "if we were better parents our teenagers would be pregnant too."

[tburnsten]

123. You keep equating "success" with "no children"

Some others "set their bars" in ways you apparently can't conceive of, including finding joy in bringing a little one into the world in a loving family. You don't need to have a kid to be a failure.

[Wednesdays]

35. The issue today isn't "failure as a parent"

It's the failure of the "abstinence-only" approach as well as fundie hypocrisy.

Nice red herring, though. :eyes:

[RB TexLa]

37. And if that is what she taught them.

She's free to accept any, some, or none of the responsibility for how her children turn out.

[Wednesdays]

36. dupe

[Ikonoklast]

39. More silliness from the OP

Unintentionally hilarious, most of the time, and I congratulate him on staying here so long.

Quite an accomplishment.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

42. Teh stupid. It hurts. Mommy. make it stop.

[GinaMaria]

43. Do you try to eliminate sex ed from schools

and replace it with Abst. Only ed? Do you work to deny or deprive people of birth control? Are you running for public office that requires people to rely on your judgment and decisions?

[elvisbear]

44. "I don't Boink with you."

:crazy:

[AZ Criminal JD]

45. The OP has set the record for stupid posts on DU

Congratulations.

[RB TexLa]

53. You think parents want their daughters knocked up at 17?

[AZ Criminal JD]

56. No and I am sure Obama's grandmother didn't want her

daughter "knocked up" when she was with Obama at 17. But that is what happened as Obama mentioned on the news today. Shit happens in life and in all families and you deal with it. Let's pray for any children you may have had.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

57. Your OP didn't say 17, it said 25.

THAT is why it's stupid.

[RB TexLa]

58. I don't think it's stupid for people to want their children to get through school and get their

business or career started before having children. But if it's your opinion that that is a stupid thing to do, everyone has their own thoughts on it.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

59. You distort things just to stir shit up, do you?

Your kids having kids younger than 25 = failed as a parent, you said. Defend THAT, not your pathetic goalpost-moved follow-ups.

[RB TexLa]

60. If they did, I would feel I had completely failed in raising them

If they did not have enough responsibility as a human being to have their life in order, I would have failed. If they did not understand and take proper precautions to prevent their life from going the way they want, or go in a way that hinders them from success then I would have failed.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

61. Lots of people have PLANNED children at 23-24, and their lives don't fall apart because of that.

Hell, 22 is a usual age to graduate from college.

If a person isn't with its life "in order" at 25, it's unlikely it will be at 40.

[RB TexLa]

62. Everyone determines what is a failure for themselves.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

63. Some determine poorly. Like you.

If (god forbid) you have kids, they have a kid at 23, and you say that shit to them, you deserve to have your ass kicked.

[tburnsten]

139. I am adding you to my buddy list now

I think he needs his ass kicked now.

[RB TexLa]

144. So you feel I should have a violent crime committed against me because I have

expressed an opinion you don't like on an internet message board. Tell me what is going happen when your child disagrees with you?

[tburnsten]

147. He'll get his ass kicked too

:spank:

[ColbertWatcher]

67. How would you propose instilling that "value" in your kids?

Considering they will rebel against you during those very years?

:popcorn:

[tburnsten]

137. So when their engaged daughter

gets pregnant with her fiance at twenty or twenty two they are still "failures"? You sir are a fucking idiot.

[RB TexLa]

138. Can you even read? "25 or so" it's in the original post

I guess nothing is going to get you off your obsession with wanting me to have said exact age. Doesn't matter that I didn't say an exact age.

Never mind, don't worry about just ignore the parts you want to ignore, makes it easier for you to attack what someone wrote when you don't bother to read what they wrote.

[tburnsten]

140. 15, 22, 20, 18, 17, what's the difference?

As long as you get to apply your retarded standards to other people's lives and make dipshit disparaging comments, then back up and try (FAIL) to change the scoring zone so less people will rip on you for being a fucking loser douchebag everything's gravy right?

You are a jackass, and when and if you have children you will either change your stupid tune or you will be a horrible parent. You will be like the gum-chewing girl's parent from Willy Wonka.

[Dreamer Tatum]

127. By count, intensity, or both? nt

[Name removed]

46. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

48. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[LisaL]

49. Only 25?

Maybe you should make it 50.

[Vickers]

50. You set the bar a little higher every day.

:thumbsup:

[RB TexLa]

51. Apparently it's an amazing fact to some here but there are people who make it

into their 20's start their careers or businesses without getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant.

[Vickers]

52. Hell, some people don't even get LAID until they're that old.

:rofl:

[ColbertWatcher]

69. I just find it interesting that you would judge YOUR abilities as a parent ...

... on one moment in your child's life.

You're certainly no Palin, who has had a lifetime of fuckups.

But, hypothetically, you would measure your 24 years, 11 months, 30 days, 23 hours and 58 minutes against two minutes (or so) of hormones?

Really?

[RB TexLa]

71. Those couple of minutes can be all it takes to destroy their life.

[ColbertWatcher]

72. But you're saying they have the same value?

How can 24+ years be the same as less than a day?

What you're saying is almost equivalent to equating global warming to the deniers. Or saying science is the same as creationism.

It doesn't make sense to me.

[RB TexLa]

77. If someone has destroyed their life how could it matter if they did it in 2 minutes or in 15 years

I really don't see your obsession with the amount of time it takes.

[ColbertWatcher]

79. Because it's not a life time of mistakes.

It's one moment and, thanks to Roe v. Wade can be reversed.

My "obsession" with the amount of time is that I cannot believe that if you had a kid you would readily exchange a relationship that has lasted 24+ years for one momentary mistake.

I can see if you had a kid that turned out to be Dumbya, whose whole life has been one fuck up after another.

But, I am assuming your hypothetical kid isn't another psychopath and has given you some sense of pride and or joy or happiness in 24+ years.

[RB TexLa]

80. Who said anything about changing a relationship?

[ColbertWatcher]

81. Didn't you say you'd feel like a failure?

Wouldn't it be in the best interests of your children not to have such a failure in their lives?

[RB TexLa]

82. Well, I don't think at that point I'd offer them any parenting advice.

Can't think they'd ask.

:)

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

87. So now having a kid before 25 is "destroying their life"?

You must have had a pretty sick, twisted childhood. Really, it's just sad.

[liberalhistorian]

54. Ummm...........the last time I checked, people were

allowed to get married between ages 18-25. And I've known plenty of married couples with children in their twenties who married before pregnancy.

And the best birth control fails. And teens and young adults have minds of their own that will, quite often, go against what they've been taught. Good parents have been known to have pregnant teens, it sometimes has nothing to do with parenting. I had an unplanned pregnancy at 25 and I had good parents whom I love dearly. I find your comments offensive and insulting.

[likesmountains 52]

55. How cool is it that you never had a reckless moment in your youth...

and that your potential children wouldn't have either ? :wow:

[robcon]

66. Stupid, fucking ridiculous OP.

Pretty judgmental?????

Failure??? You can decide that so quickly, and divide the successes from the failures without any other facts????

A new low for DU, IMO.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

68. RGBolen has made me agree with you.

I need to take a shower.

[Moochy]

92. Don't use all the hot water

I too find myself in agreement. :(

[Dorian Gray]

117. He can do that for a lot of people

who regularly disagree on other topics. LOL.

:)

[Sisaruus]

73. I had my first child when I was barely 18.

He's 37 now - and smart, funny, compassionate, and darn good lookin' (and a member of DU). His brother was born 5 years later. My mother is 80 now and my sister and I have (and always had) a great relationship with her. (My father died 20 years ago.) My pregnancy was not a reflection on their parenting - it was a consequence of my actions. And as much as I know I disappointed them, they stood by MY decision to have the baby (it was before Roe but we had the means - and they had the preference - to arrange a safe abortion in Europe) and encouraged me to still pursue all my dreams. And they were both devoted grandparents. I think they were extraordinarily successful as parents.

[cwydro]

74. I hope this is sarcasm. nt

[LWolf]

75. It sounds like you don't have children.

I'd like to suggest that perhaps parenting isn't as cut and dried as you seem to think.

[JVS]

76. No. I fully intend to encourage my children (if I have any) to have kids ASAP.

i find myself living in a generation where if one is trying to live a middleclass life it is necessary to postpone having children at the age of 35. For the next generation it could easily be 40 or 45 and conception starts being difficult (see idiocracy). In all seriousness, I believe that at 18 to marry and have a kid or 2 would put the mother in a good position to have the kids out of the intense daycare stage by the time she's done with college (maybe college will take another couple years) or even. These would also be the years I'd be able to lend a helping hand, because if she waits until she's 40, I plan to be dead already. Thus at 24 or 25, the kids are at school, she's in graduate or professional program of some sort, and by the time she's really working her ass of at the age of 40 trying to get to the top of the career field, the kids are gone to college.

[NeedleCast]

78. I Can Not Begin to Express How Happy I Am

that you haven't been breeding. Please continue this course.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

88. (something makes me think we won't have to worry about this one breeding)

[RB TexLa]

91. You don't because I do not wish to raise children so I don't raise them

Life actually is pretty easy to plan out.

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

104. Yep, life is easy to plan out.

Especially when you live in your parents' basement and play World of Warcraft all day. :hi:

[RB TexLa]

107. My parent's have both passed, I live in my house and have no idea what the last thing is.

But I guess you meant that to degrade me, right?

[EmperorHasNoClothes]

119. Yes, the same way you degraded everyone who ever had a child before age 25 (and their parents)

If the responses to this thread don't make it clear to you how out of line you were, perhaps you should consider staying away from the internet for a while. Thanks, have a nice day, and welcome to my ignore list.

[Fumesucker]

89. Post Of The Thread..

I'm laughing my ass off..

[EstimatedProphet]

83. IT'S THE RGBOLEN SHOW!!

With the hardest working man on DU, RGBolen!

And heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerre's RG!

[RB TexLa]

84. There's no f***ing show.

[Moochy]

93. Was it cancelled because of the hurricane?

:(

[Richardo]

100. That's what YOU think.

[RadiationTherapy]

125. I never get tired of hearing you write that.

The RG Bolen show. Ex-fucking-actly.

[Fumesucker]

85. There are lot of adults on their second and third careers..

In this day and age it is extremely difficult to predict what technological and sociological changes are coming down the pike at us. This makes it virtually impossible to plan a lifelong career.

The thing that someone who has not raised children will not realize is that they are not little robots that you can program as you wish, they actually have minds of their own. Children start expressing their independence quite young, "the terrible twos" is not just a phrase, it is a child learning to make their own way in the world. We had a friend whose little girl went into that phase like someone had thrown a switch, one week she was sweet and pliable and literally the next week she was utterly stubborn and stayed that way for years. Sometimes you start to think the only word they know is "no".

Not to mention that all kids are different, I've seen families with one very successful (in the sense you are speaking of) child and one who is a total fuckup. Are those parents failures or are they good parents?

Not everyone hits the ground running when it comes to careers also, for many people it takes a long time to figure out what it is they wish to do with their lives. A friend of my daughter's was an honor student who really, really wanted to be a lawyer,she graduated from pre-law with an extremely high GPA and went to law school. Two years into law school she did a summer internship in a law firm and found out she hated it. What should she do then, eh? Just stick with a career she hated?

Planning a career before you even have any experience in the real world of work is a fool's errand. School is not like work and work is not like school.

And starting your own business? Do you have any idea at all of the failure rate for small businesses? It's almost astronomically high. Not to mention that the skills, personality and attitudes necessary for starting a business are not the same ones that are really best for running a business long term. Really good startup entrepreneurs are often terrible managers and vice versa.

[Zuiderelle]

94. Nice formula. Score one more for RGBolen.

If you really wanted to make a point, You would have just said 17. Saying 25 opens it up for all sorts of objections from people here whose mothers were under 25 when they had their first child, which would be a pretty fair majority of us, I would think.

You are consistent. This thread has gone just about the same as most of your "classics."

Nice formula.

:thumbsup:

[RB TexLa]

95. I said 25 or so, roughly the age to finish school and obtain safe employment

no magic number. And there are more people here that would consider it having failed to have a knocked up 19 or 18 year old or a son doing so at 18 or 19 then will admit it.



The OP does say 25 or so, I didn't create some magic age. But it helps your little insult to pretend I did and am just playing a game.

[Zuiderelle]

96. 25 is a high number. My mother was 23 when she had her first child.

And she had already graduated from college and was working at a hospital as a physical therapist intern. Her mother was 22 or 23, and her mother also younger than 25. Most of the people of my generation had mothers who had their first child at that age.

The fact that you used such an obviously high number, coupled with your past threads, leads me to believe that, yes, it is a game to you.

[RB TexLa]

97. No there is no game. I haven't memorized your username but you or someone else

likes to use that exact little insult a lot.

[LostinVA]

108. Uh oh -- he's bringing up the memorizing username thing again

As if any of us can't remember his posts.

[Fumesucker]

103. Safe employment?

You are delusional..

There is no such thing as "safe employment". There was something reasonably close back many years ago but that age is as extinct as the Dodo.

[RadiationTherapy]

126. What a fear based comment. "safe" employment. nt

[BoneDaddy]

101. wow not fair at all

Is it the optimal choice, no perhaps, but I have met 15 year olds much wiser that 75 year olds.  A blanket statement like that is just that.

[Elwood P Dowd]

102. RG has been defending repukes on this board for years.

He absolutely worships their fake free trade deals and outsourcing policies.

[noamnety]

105. A thousand variables

My parents were young when they had kids. Me and my sister, we changed my dad's draft status and he wasn't sent to Vietnam. Those pregnancies my mom had may have saved his life.

If your hypothetical daughter came to you and said she was pregnant, you might not ever know if she was pregnant because she was raped. It would add an extra layer of shit to the hand she was dealt if you reacted by acting like you failed cause you didn't teach her better.

There are a thousand variables.

No matter. If you do have children and they make you a grandparent, I hope you can get past the "how-does-this-reflect-on-me" stage and spend your energy on what's important, rather than sulking because you couldn't control their sex lives well into adult-hood.

[Blue-Jay]

106. If *you're* a parent, then Darwin is the one who failed.

[LostinVA]

109. Thankfully -- Darwin wins!

[Name removed]

110. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RB TexLa]

111. Oh the GOP spin that "everyone has a knocked up 17 year old" Not true. It's not the norm.

Repeating that over and over doesn't make it true.

[LanternWaste]

112. Less a clear indication...

Less a clear indication and more a simple opinion on what is, or is not an appropriate age for childbirth. I think you confuse personal morality with social mores.

[RadiationTherapy]

113. BAAHhahaAHaHAAhahaAHa!

Kick for the "I don't have kids; let me tell you how to raise yours" crowd.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

114. I guess Obama's grandparents were failures.

:sarcasm:

His mother had him when she was 18.

[Dorian Gray]

115. I don't agree with that...

forget about Palin, there are many children who engage in premarital sex. It doesn't indicate that anyone is a failure as a parent.

Where Palin fails (in this matter) is her inability to endorse a proper sexual educational system.

[tburnsten]

118. Thanks dick

I am 22 and my fiance and I are expecting. Glad to see such a monumental display of judgement cast down from on high.


Maybe you are on the wrong site

[RadiationTherapy]

122. From the guy who is irritated when Amber Alerts interrupt his wife's TV watching.

"Why, when I was a kid, if you was kidnapped, ya handled it the old fashioned way! Either your parent's paid a bribe, you escape by your own bootstraps or you were hacked to pieces! None of this high falutin "Amber Alert" nonsense! A kid gets kidnapped, ya gotta wonder what they did to deserve it in the first place, ya know?"

[LanternWaste]

124. Success or failure of parent rests on one fundamnetal concept...

Success or failure of parenting rests on one fundamnetal concept-- Love.


Everything else is mere preference, conjecture, and projection of one's own Victorian-era sexual hangups and familial mores onto other families; families which may not only manage quite well with young pregnancies, but may also welcome and accept it.

Less 'Captain Obvious' and more 'Major Blindness'.

[onenote]

129. apparently spell check isn't working -- should be "captain oblivious"

[wtmusic]

130. Nah it's that damn MS Impulsive Comment Check

Still has a few bugs.

[ZombieHorde]

131. I had kids at 24, my parents must be failures!!!

How old were your parents when they had their first kid?

[RB TexLa]

132. They were 31

[LostinVA]

133. Such fine parents

Give them a hug for me.

[RB TexLa]

134. Can't anymore.

[LostinVA]

135. I'm sorry

[ZombieHorde]

136. Wow, that is six more years of responibility. So impressive, so awesome.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

142. They certainly didn't teach you empathy.

Some people might consider that a failure in parenting. A lack of empathy is one of the most common traits of serial killers.

David

[REP]

145. Massive Fail for *2* Pregnancies before highschool diploma

1 pregnancy, no kid - well, kids are dumb and shit happens. 2 pregnancies ... well, yes, you are failing as a parent.

[robcon]

148. Barack Obama's grandmother must have been an awful mother.

Her daughter had Barack when she was 18. What an awful mother!

:sarcasm:

[conflictgirl]

149. Wow, you just insulted everyone here who had kids before 25

I'm pretty insulted that you think my parents somehow "failed me" because I didn't choose to wait until the age you deemed more appropriate to have children. At just a couple months shy of turning 24 I think I was more mature than a lot of other new parents who happened to be 5 years older than me.

[RB TexLa]

150. So did you not read where I wrote "25 or so" or did you just choose to ignore the "or so" part?

[conflictgirl]

151. No...but I still didn't follow your plan

I didn't finish college before having kids because my parents couldn't afford it after high school, so I never really had a big degree or a career before having kids. Sure, some things about being more settled in a career might have made life easier, but I think we turned out fine anyway (and I still managed to complete a BA after having my kids and am now applying to grad schools).

I might even agree with you if your point was that you wanted any hypothetical kids to be somewhat financially secure before having children of their own, but that's not the same as saying you failed your children if they had children before some arbitrary age. Most people consider 25 "or so" to be considerably more adult than a teen but your post seemed to imply that a pregnancy in either age group was equally disappointing.

[uppityperson]

152. You have interesting opinions.Glad you hold them only for yourself

though reading through this topic I am confused because some places you indicate you are only speaking for yourself, other places you are speaking in general. Aren't you the poster who doesn't want his spouse to be the one to make decisions about you if you are in a coma/etc with no possibility of recovering? Interesting opinions you have, hoping you hold them only for yourself and your strongly worded bits where you imply everyone should feel this way and that you feel this way about everyone else are only poorly worded.

Thanks, Mom, for having me when you were 26, though shame on you for having my first sib when you were only 24. Your parents failed. Woe.

[FVZA_Colonel]

153. Only if you were a member of the Religious Right and preached about the importance of abstinence-

only sex education, and slashed support for pregnant teens.