If you think it's hard being a single mom, try being Kailyn Lowry. The star of Teen Mom 2 has been single parenting son Isaac while the whole world watches. On top of that, she doesn't even have her own parents around to help her out. In fact, Kailyn had some pretty harsh words for the people who brought her into the world when she sat down with The Stir to talk about the third season of her MTV reality show.
Kailyn was 16 when she got pregnant with the son of a guy she'd been dating off and on for just nine months. Now, with Teen Mom 2 premiering on Monday, November 12 (the show has moved to a new night), Kailyn has had a chance to look back on what started it all. She told The Stir how she thinks she ended up 16 & Pregnant, and how she's going to keep her son from being a teen parent.
Kailyn on her mom, Suzi:
I don't talk to her. I haven't talked to her in almost two years; she hasn't been to a birthday party for Isaac or anything, so ...
It's kind of sad, but I'm at a place now where I'm OK with it.
On how she ended up expecting a baby at 16:
Looking back, I think that the fact that both my parents were kind of absent led me in a direction where I was seeking attention in places that maybe I shouldn't have.
I couldn't be more happy with the way things are now, so I don't really look at it as a regret or anything, but definitely.
On not repeating her mom's mistakes:
I learned everything not to do. I learned what not to do, how to be there for Isaac, being that I never had someone there for me. I'm kind of doing the opposite of what my mom did.
On why she's proud to be on the show despite all the hardships:
I feel like it's showing other girls what not to do, kind of, or, if they are already in my situation, maybe help them do things differently or do things the same way ... or give them answers. Hopefully girls aren't getting pregnant.
On why she'll share Teen Mom 2 with her son in particular:
I don't really want him to be too young [when he watches Teen Mom 2] because I know there are some things that Jo and I went through that I don't really want him to see too young. I guess we'll play it by ear. I think whenever he's starting to learn about having sex and stuff like that, I think that's a good time. His birth control could be the show!
What do you think of what Kailyn has realized as she looks back on how she was parented? Do you think Teen Mom is good birth control?
Image via Jeanne Sager
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Comments 10
OK, i understand that she had a really awful upbringing, and that her parents were not there but, you cannot blame getting pregnant on somebody else. Its your body you decided to not use birth control and had unprotected sex. For example, that's like saying that person i murdered put a gun in my hand and pulled the trigger it just doesn't work that way. I'm sure she doesn't regret getting pregnant because she has her sweet little boy. And she seems like a great mother. But i know its hard but you can't blame the actions that you've taken and blame them on somebody else.
you can not blame someone for your own actions
Parents must make sure their kids are informed and know how to, in this case, prevent a pregnancy. We must make sure what the consequences for their actions are. It seems this young lady did not have much guidance at home, maybe she herself was the product of an unexpected pregnancy and her mom found the perfect getaway excuse. Good thing she is doignt he opposite.
You can never judge a person for their mistakes until - forgive the cliche - you've walked in their shoes.
There is a lot of hyper-generalized stereotypes that are commonly accepted and perpetuated about teen pregnancy and mothers. "She should have kept her legs closed!" "She must be stupid, why didn't she use birth control?" It is very easy to say, "she should have done this because that's what I would have done, if I were her" but the fact of the matter is that you aren't her. A person's upbringing (or lack thereof) is not an excuse or scapegoat for teen pregnancy, but it is one of many underlying causes that can lead to it.
Not to mention that accidental pregnancies do occur even while practicing safe-sex. When I was a teenager, I became pregnant with my boyfriend of three years while using birth control because my dermatolagist failed to inform me that the medication he perscribed me weakens the effectiveness of birth control, and that babies exposed to this medicine in the womb would suffer serious deformations or could even be stillborn. I was unfairly judged by everyone when I got an abortion because everyone had a preconcieved notion of me and my reasons because of the stereotypes perpetuated about teenage pregnancy.