I found it was important to be raised in the faith because many issues can arise from being the child of a young parent. Often there are fewer family members helping out.
And some authority figures may threaten to take the child away because they do not find the parents old enough or experienced enough to take care of them properly.
When I was in Grade 1, the principal at my school would tell my mom, in front of me and in letters to my mother, that he was going to call the Children’s Aid Society because he thought my mother was too young to be a parent.
Keeping the faith can help the young family understand they are loved and that no matter what happens, God is watching over them.
It helped that I had a family that was there for me.
But my faith certainly helped as well. I was made fun of a lot as a child and, when times were hard, I would sit on my bed and talk to God, telling Him things I could not tell anyone else. Talking to Him made the hard times easier for me and, through being raised Catholic, I was able to make friends who shared the same beliefs and common interests.
When I started college, all my friends moved away. I joined the young adult ministry at my church, and again found good friends. Through the young adult ministry, I had the chance to lead high school and elementary youth groups as well.
I am only really learning now what being brought up Catholic has done for me. Parents make the choice for their children, and only until someone is older and has more perspective are they able to fully understand how it affects them.
My mother had her whole family to help her and that made a big difference in my upbringing. She was able to live at home for my first two years.
Even though she was sometimes very busy with work and school, she still taught me the Catholic beliefs and always told me not to do what she did. She has made me understand how hard it can be to have a child before you’re ready and before you’re married.
(Ward, 19, is a journalism student at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ont. View her full profile at youthspeaknews.org)
Keeping the faith can help young families
By Elizabeth Ward, Youth Speak NewsIt seems the number of teenagers having children is on the rise. It is not an ideal circumstance to have teen parents raising an infant, but it doesn’t mean something good cannot come out of it, and while it is a struggle, young parents can turn to their Catholic faith.
My mother gave birth to me one month shy of her 16th birthday. I was baptized a few months later and when I was old enough, I was sent to Catholic schools. There, I learned about God and my faith. My mother and I went to church sometimes, but she worked a lot and went to school, so we didn’t often go together. Instead, it was left to my grandparents to take me.
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