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NWR: Did no one learn from Teen Mom?

I just need to talk it out...

I have a difficult family dynamic. My Mom had 4 children(she had me when she was just 19) with 3 different men and has also had a long struggle with drugs and alcohol. My Mom didn't raise any of her 4 kids, the first 3(Myself, Sister, and Brother A) of us were raised separately by various(amazing) family members, while the youngest brother (Brother B) was given up for adoption.

My Mom is finally clean and sober however, my sister and I still continually feel like we are her parents. She always makes statements about how she is "emotionally a teenager" and doesn't have it together. Before my Mom was clean and sober my sister and I went through a lot with her. From abusive boyfriends and drug overdoses to suicide attempts and bailing her out of jail. During these years when Brother B would come to visit we would all put our best faces on and act like every thing was fine and dandy for the few days or weeks he was here. There were visits where no one had seen my Mom for months and we had no idea if she'd show up and she would and everyone would act like we just saw her yesterday. We all did this because we wanted what was best for brother B and we thought that acting normal would be good for him.

What has instead ended up happening is that he idolized my Mom and our "family". The family that adopted him is amazing and they so kind and loving. However, anytime they try to enforce normal rules on him (curfew or chores) he acts out and says he wants to be with his real family. When he was 13 he ran away from home to try to make it to California where we all live and made a few hours from home before police found him hitch hiking.

My siblings and I have always thought that him being adopted was what was best for him. We always thought that it was his best chance at the best possible future. However, we got the news last night that he has dropped out of high school and gotten his girlfriend pregnant. They are 17 and 16.

My Mom is super excited for her first grandchild and isn't at all concerned that he is 17 and has no education and can't provide for a child at all. She said "this is what happens in Missouri" that its normal and I'm being ridiculous.

Brother B's girlfriend texted my sister to ask if she was excited for them and my sister told them no, that she is scared for them and that they have no idea how hard it is going to be.

I texted the girlfriend to let her know that while she doesn't know me, she can talk to me if she ever needs to and that she has options. She called me a murdered and told me she "loves her baby" and that her family is supportive. Neither of her parents work and they live with her grandparents. Its all a mess.

On top of all of this, Friday they posted photos on social media of themselves drinking beer, taking shots of hard alcohol and smoking, but she told my sister that she has know she was pregnant for weeks.

I'm at such a loss. I know that I can't control other peoples decisions but I'm just so sad for them. I know that people get pregnant as teenagers and have babies young all the time and it works out, but for me, its so hard because we went through so much to try to be better than where we came from and now he just starting life with such a a tough road ahead.

Re: NWR: Did no one learn from Teen Mom?

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    Geez, I'm so sorry to hear about this. Given your history with your mom and think you reaction is understandable. Yes sometimes these things work out but most often they don't and the child/children are the ones that suffer. I have no advice for you. Just I'm sorry this is happening.
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    Unfortunately this is an ugly mess for you to be involved in.  You can keep these photos and future evidence if you plan on calling child services but otherwise I don't think there's much you can do.

    I remember that age and feeling like I could do anything, adults didn't know me or know more than I did...it's tough. You did your part by offering to be there for them and to provide education on their options, but it sounds like they're going to do this their own way.

    I'm sorry you're dealing with this.
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    How often do you see this brother? How does the gf know you had an abortion (the murderer comment)? 
    I would stay out of it and if the time comes for you to be supportive I would do so with diapers, clothing, or other things for the baby.


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    ei34ei34 member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited June 2016
    jenna8984 said:
    lnixon8 said:
    How often do you see this brother? How does the gf know you had an abortion (the murderer comment)? 
    I would stay out of it and if the time comes for you to be supportive I would do so with diapers, clothing, or other things for the baby.
    Guessing because OP mentioned that abortion was an option to GF. Not that she had one herself.
    This is what I gathered too, that Brother B's gf made the murderer comment because OP said she has options.

    OP, is brother B at all open to looking into a GED and then learning a trade?  How far into the future does he seem to be looking?  (I know he's only 17 I'm just curious.)  And his adoptive family sounds great- what's their take on all of this?  I'm sorry that you're going through all of this, especially considering how much you've already dealt with.

    ETA to add:   it's ironic that "Teen Mom" is in your title.  I think that show glorifies teen pregnancy a bit.  I'm a high school guidance counselor, and I hear my students say things like "if I got pregnant I hope I get on teen mom I'll bet they make so much money" or "so-and-so from Teen Mom is on the cover of that magazine again...".  I don't think teen pregnancies should be swept under the rug but the show certainly isn't scaring teens away from pregnancy.
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    Your brothers situation is definitely sad and disappointing, but like it or not, you and your siblings have no say.  If your goal is to remain involved in Brother B's life and be a support system from afar for him and his girlfriend I'm afraid your and your sisters actions will likely just push them further away.

    But most importantly, you need to make sure the things you do for anyone in your family are in your best interest and you're not shuffling that aside for theirs.  I'd recommend AlAnon or NarAnon if you're not already involved.  From the brief bit that you did share it sounds like your mom still has addict behavior even outside of her addiction, and you may be engaging in some enabling type behaviors out of habit yourself.  (hugs)
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    Yes, the GF was calling me a murderer because I said they had options. She assumed that abortion was their only option when I mentioned it. I was more reaching out to see if they had thought about their options like adoption or abortion or just had any type of game plan. what I said was "I don't know what life is like for you and I don't know much about you, but I want to make sure that you know that you have options. I want you to know that if you ever need to talk about anything I am here for you". My reason for reaching out was because I thought, what if this poor girl went to her parents to tell them she was pregnant and was hoping for help because she isn't ready and then they were all happy about a baby and shes just freaked out and has no idea what to do. I thought this because of how she was asking my sister "are you excited for us?". Obviously I was wrong.

    As to Brother B's plan... UGH. I think that is why I am so upset. If he would have brought this to my Mom or any of us with an attitude of "I got her pregnant, now I'm going to work really hard to make things right and get my GED or do X, Y, Z to provide for my new family", I think that I would be a lot less worried about them. They are acting like this was planned and its taken forever to get pregnant. When I tried to talk to him he kept telling me that I was stupid for not being happy for him and when I told him I was really worried because he is so young and that its going to be hard and he needs to get his GED he just kept telling me I was stupid and he has so much "monies" he can do whatever he wants. I asked my sister about his comment about having so much money, and she said that last summer he told her that he has around $1,200 saved up and that he wanted to use it to move to CA and get a house when he graduated. She told him that it wouldn't get him very far in the house buying process he just laughed at her. He's just a kid with NO IDEA how anything works.

    No one from his adoptive family knows yet. I really feel like my Mom should tell his adoptive Mom, AM, but she feels like my brother needs to tell her. I really want to talk to AM about it because she is so great and we use to talk semi regularly. I keep going through phases of thinking "I really hope AM doesn't take this news badly, she's tried so hard to give him everything he needs" and "OMG HOW DID SHE LET THIS HAPPEN", but I know teenagers will be teenagers and she couldn't have kept him locked up in a basement.

    I can see how some kids see Teen Mom and glorify it, which makes me sad. I think especially now since the people on it make money from the show its so unrealistic. I hope more kids see the Teen Mom people as extreme cases and not at all the norm. 
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    You can't prevent this from happening.   People who want to have sex will find a way to do it.   It's not like they need to be left alone for hours.

    This is really sad.   It sounds like neither of them have a clue about how the world works.

    If I were you I'd probably call the AM.
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    This is a really difficult situation and it sounds like they have their minds made up that this is their plan. How close are our you to him? 

    It could be a good idea to see them both in person and just tell them that you know this is a big decision and you will be supportive of whatever happens and have an open chat about abortion/ adoption/ raising the baby/ living arrangements / birth control / even Pre natal vitamins etc.

    It may be that they're in a high of oh my god we're going to have a baby and honestly haven't even thought or talked about where the baby will sleep and it could shock them into realising how much there is to think about. 

    Good luck! (hugs)
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    PPs covered it. Also, you are an excellent big sister! (((((Hugs))))))))))
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    banana468 said:
    You can't prevent this from happening.   People who want to have sex will find a way to do it.   It's not like they need to be left alone for hours.

    This is really sad.   It sounds like neither of them have a clue about how the world works.

    If I were you I'd probably call the AM.
    But maybe if we could just teach teenagers to use a condom....

    You're doing your best, OP, and you and your sisters sound really strong. There's no good way to deal with a situation like this one, especially since you don't have a close relationship with them. Just be there if they need someone, and hope that they recognize the need for it. 
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    banana468 said:
    You can't prevent this from happening.   People who want to have sex will find a way to do it.   It's not like they need to be left alone for hours.

    This is really sad.   It sounds like neither of them have a clue about how the world works.

    If I were you I'd probably call the AM.
    But maybe if we could just teach teenagers to use a condom....

    You're doing your best, OP, and you and your sisters sound really strong. There's no good way to deal with a situation like this one, especially since you don't have a close relationship with them. Just be there if they need someone, and hope that they recognize the need for it. 
    That's not a fool proof method though.    And teens do need to learn about safe sex but a condom isn't 100% .   They put that on the box!

    And sometimes people who don't use condoms also don't "get" what child raising takes.    It's sad.   
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