F&C Worker Defends Teen Fatherhood in Media
Christchurch Father & Child support worker Jonathan Young said that he knows of ‘a lot of 15 and 16-year-old parents that are a hell of a lot better than 40-year old parents’ in today’s Press, which features one of Father & Child’s supported teen dads, Jordan Cairns, on the cover. Jordan himself said he had ‘no regrets’ about becoming a dad so young.
The Press quotes Statistics New Zealand figures, showing a sharp increase in the number of 14 or 15 year-old boys becoming dads.
Jonathan Young said that for the young men fatherhood is often a way to turn their lives around into a more positive direction, if they have had a difficult background.
According to psychologist Dr Mark Byrd teenagers ‘make crappy parents’, however, because of unrealistic expectations.
Press article ‘More Kiwi boys becoming dads’ here
