Do you have an unmarried teen daughter who is pregnant and intends to keep the child? Chances are she may also believe that her teenage boyfriend is going to marry her and they will live happily ever after like in the movies. The unfortunate reality is that grandparents getting custody of the child will more likely be the outcome. That means you will be parenting your child and grandchild at the same time.
Unwanted teen pregnancies cause tremendous life changes for the teen mother and her parents as well. Regardless of what the teen thinks, the reality of raising a baby is profoundly difficult in the best of circumstances. The teen mother usually has to forgo her education causing her to take menial jobs to support her child. Often a teen mother will become rebellious and not tend to her parental duties at all.
Grandparents getting custody of the grandchild may be the only way that the baby has a chance to survive without social services stepping in and moving the child to foster care. As a grandparent you may feel that you have failed in your parenting of your child and have a tremendous amount of guilt as a result. Try not to be too hard on yourselves because unintended teen pregnancies happen all the time.
The best thing you can do if you have to parent your child and grandchild at the same time is to say to yourself that as your child matures she will probably realize that her motherly duties will become a priority in her life. At sixteen or seventeen all she wants to do is hang out with her other teen peers. When she starts to become an adult her priorities will also change.
To find more information on grandparent child custody issues with a teen daughter visit Grandparents Getting Custody or GrandparentsCustodyRights.com.
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