The Crazy Writings of Destiny Rose
Home | About the Author | The Evil Snow White | In Love With Prince Charming | Academics vs. Athletics | Good-Bye | Courage | Why Try and Change the Past? | My Personal Philosophy | Poetry | More Poetry | Child Development | Economics | Antigone Rewrite








Child Development

These are a couple papers I wrote in my child development class.  One is fiction, but very sad, and the other is an alternative assignment I did so that I did not have to take an electronic baby home.  Again, I am sorry for how this page looks, along with the next one...

SIDS

 

 

            My name is Stacie.  I had a baby girl one year ago.  She became the love of my life.  She was the only thing I had to live for.  (pause)  Please excuse me.  It’s very hard to talk about this without crying.  As I said, she was the only thing I had to live for.  I had to drop out of school.  There wasn’t a father.  That man can go to Hell for all I care.  I’m sorry.  This is really difficult for me.  My daughter was the most precious thing.  I didn’t mind it when she cried.  I did the best I could to comfort her.  I gave her everything I could.  She had enough formula, and she had enough clothes.  I had so many plans for her.  I pictured her wedding, and I pictured her kids, even though she was only a baby.   I miss her so much.  My baby da, da, (pause)  My baby died from SIDS. (wipes tears away from her eyes)

            SIDS stands for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.  SIDS is the death of a baby younger than one without a known cause.  I felt like I caused her death.  The doctors told me that I couldn’t have done anything more than I was to prevent it.  It didn’t make me feel any less guilty. I had her when I was 16.  Teenage pregnancy increases the risk of SIDS. It wasn’t my fault though.  It took me a few months after my daughter died to accept that it wasn’t my fault.  Not only did I have a daughter when I was only 16, I also waited too long to get proper prenatal care. That wasn’t my fault either.

            I was…  I was… (takes deep breath) I was raped at the age of 15.  After it was over, I felt disgusting and worthless.  I thought it was my fault for being raped.  No one knew that I was raped until 4 months after it happened, not even my best friend.  I was so depressed at the time.  I didn’t eat much.  It was hard for me to get any sleep.  I didn’t notice that I hadn’t had my period, and I never experienced any morning sickness.  My best friend was the first person to find out.  She told my mom, and my mom took me to the doctor.  They ran many tests, and I did not receive any sexually transmitted diseases, but I was pregnant.  I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it.  I didn’t accept it at all.  I was only 15, I couldn’t be pregnant.  I was a virgin before that no good, dirty, rotten, evil son of a… sorry, I sometimes forget what kind of crowd I’m speaking to.

            Because I didn’t know I was pregnant until 4 months along, I didn’t have any prenatal care, and my baby wasn’t getting proper nutrients from me.  Poor prenatal care is another risk factor of SIDS.

            I’m not up here just to talk about SIDS.  I am here mainly for the girls in this school.  I want to let you know that being raped is not your fault.  I wish I could say that it will never happen to any of you in here, but I can’t.  I am here because I want to let you know that it’s not a good thing to keep quiet about horrible things like that. You males need to here this too.  Not only is my story about me being raped, but it happened the first time.  You all need to think about possible consequences before acting on your emotions and desires.  Girls, if any of you are, or become pregnant, I want to let you know that you need to get prenatal care as soon as possible.  I will never see my daughter again. I will never wake up to her crying.  I will never here her coo or laugh.  I will never get to watch her grow up.  I will never get to comfort her if she gets hurt.  All of that was taken away from me because of SIDS.  SIDS can not be 100% preventable, but the fact that I had poor prenatal care and that I was a teenager increased the chances of SIDS.  If I would have told someone I had been raped sooner, I would have greatly decreased the chance of my daughter dying from SIDS.  I hope that you will all remember this for the rest of your life.  Thank you for listening.  If any of you have any questions, or would like to talk to me after this, I will be here for the rest of the day.

 

Teenage pregnancy

Every aspect of a woman's life is changed when a baby is added to their life, regardless of the woman's age. It is much harder for a teenage to deal with being a mother or a father. Teenagers are generally still in school, and many of them have activities outside of school, such as sports, youth group, and their friends, along with a variety of other things.

I currently spend most of my time studying. I do get a chance to spend time with friends, and I go to youth group every Wednesday. If I had a child to take care of, particularly a newborn baby, I would not be able to do as much. I would have to stay home from school for the first few weeks, or possibly the first two months after birth so that I could be with Dezi, my son or daughter. It is vital for a mother to be with her child for the first few weeks of its new life. I would not be able to keep up with the courses I am currently taking. I would greatly fall behind in both AP Calculus, and AP Chemistry, and I would more than likely decide to drop those classes.

During the time I would be staying home, I would have to think about how I would have the baby cared for during school hours. That would involve finding someone willing to watch Dezi for seven to eight hours everyday, and I would have to find a way to pay the baby-sitter as well. It is also possible that I would decide to drop out of high school, and work at getting my GED later on in life.

The time I spend with my friends would definitely be minimized. I couldn't spontaneously go to the movies, or to stay at a friends house for the night. I would have Dezi to consider. Dezi would become the most important part of my life. Nothing else would matter as much. I wouldn't want to hand Dezi off to a lot of people. I would want Dezi to feel that I am his or her mother.

My academic and social life would not be the only aspects of my life changed. My sleep schedule would be different. I would have to wake up many times throughout the night to feed, rock, or change Dezi's diaper. I would probably have to take naps in the day while Dezi is napping.

At the moment, I can't ever see myself being a mother. I have no desire for children, nor do I have any desire to ever get married, let alone having a boyfriend. If I had a baby right now, I would constantly doubt my mothering abilities, and there would more than likely be no father figure for Dezi. Most teenage fathers "run out" on the mother. They aren't mature enough to handle being a father, just as teenage girls aren't mature enough to handle being a mother. I would definitely be very stressed, and I could see myself crying quite often. Having a baby would change the entire course of my life.

My plans after graduation involve going to college to become an elementary school teacher, and to later become a school counselor. As I have already stated, it is a possibility I would drop out of high school if I had a baby to take care of. I wouldn't have a clue on what would happen in my lifetime. I don't have any idea how I would take care of my child's needs by myself. I know that my parents would help, and that I would have a place to live. They would be very supportive of me, and would help me in my decisions. I also know that they would help with most expenses. I am happy that I have supporting parents, but I would feel so guilty about them spending money so that I could raise my child. I know that I would love Dezi with all of my heart, and that I would do anything for him or her, but I wouldn't know what to do.

I would have to live with the regret of getting pregnant at such a young age. I would live with the pain in knowing my life dream would probably never be reached. I would never know what my future could have been without having a baby to take care of. I would live with the pain of the loss of friendships, because of the absence of communication. I would feel lost, and I don't like feeling lost, but I would have to live with it. I would have to put my pain, and my regrets aside so that I could do the best I could to take care of my child, and I would more than likely hate myself for it.

One of the main reasons I did not take the electronic baby home is because I would not have time to waste with the course load that I have. I am already stressed enough about so many things, and adding a two-week-old electronic baby, even for one night would add more stress than I could possibly handle at the moment.

Another reason for writing this paper rather than taking the baby home, is that I truly believe that it wouldn't be helpful to me. As I previously stated, I have no desire of ever becoming a mother, or having a boyfriend, or getting married. Along with that, I also have no sexual desires whatsoever, nor have I ever. I feel that the regular assignment is to make teenagers think twice about having sex, because the consequence very well could be having a child. Taking an electronic baby home can help teenagers understand how "real" babies are. By "real," I don't mean the way a baby generally acts. I mean that some teenagers have this concept in their mind that it wouldn't be that different if they were to get pregnant, and the electronic babies can make them realize how wrong that concept is. Although I have never been around a newborn baby, I do not need to take care of an electronic baby to understand how hard it is to be a teenage mother.

I know that I could change my mind one day about having children, but I know that it will not be for a long time. In the unlikely event that I ever do have a child, I want to be ready, I want to be married, and I want to have enough money to raise that child. If I ever decide to bring a child into this world, I want to be able to give it the best possible life a child can have. I know I can not do that at the moment. Parenthood isn't for everyone, but it certainly isn't for any teenager.