"Broad assumptions are made about young parents: they must be single parents, they have short term or sporadic relationships, they probably have had many sexual partners, they will make inadequate parents and they are uneducated and irresponsible." ~Planned Parenhood "Young Parent's Report"

I am far from the youngest mother out there, I am 23 1/2 with two kids who are 5 and almost 2.  My husband was 18 when our first son Gino was born (my "step" son) and so was I, although I did not know him at that age, I could have very easily been in the same boat as my husband was at 18.  I in fact (don't really care what your opinions are on the matter) had an abortion when I was 18, and to this day have never regretted the decision.  For me, at that time I was not ready to have a baby especially not with the "man" I was seeing at that time.  He had another son who he never took care of, pretended he cared about him, was 25 and couldn't hold a job or pay child support without me telling him he should be doing so, amongst other things. His sons mother and I became very close (and I still consider her an amazing friend), she was one of the few who was totally honest with me about him, she was right about him every step of the way, and to this day I am so grateful to her for her being so straight forward and honest with me from the beginning (even when I was being manipulated by a hobbit).
I was anything but careless, actually I had been taking birth control since I was young (not to over share or anything) and had consistently taken my pills to ensure I would not have a baby until I was ready. Unfortunately, when you are young and your doctor does not inform you that taking anti-biotic's while on birth control can stop the birth control from being effective, pregnancy is often what follows. It was a hard decision for me because I love kids and my mother and my father had different views on the matter. In the end, I decided to have an abortion (which prior to the situation I was in, I never agreed with people having them) and my best friend Katie was there for me every step of the way.  And Like I said, to this day, I have never regretted my decision.
Only two years later, I met my husband and his absolutely adorable 2 year old son.  Honestly when I met my husband, I thought he was much older (I never dated men my age, because generally they were too immature) and wanted nothing to do with him for a good 6 months, not because he wasn't attractive or hilarious (he was and still is, even more so now than then) but because I just got out of a serious relationship and definitely was not wanting to be involved with another man who had a kid. I suppose persistence pays off though, because I am now in fact married to him. So in a way, I have been a mother since I was 20, because I have been a mother to Gino since then. I was almost 22 when Deezy was born, so I guess you could say I am a young mother, however I had always wanted my kids in my early 20's because I didn't want to be an older mother (not that anything is wrong with that, I just wanted to have mine young).  I'm hoping to have another soon!! So far, my husband and I are thinking 6 kids, but that all depends on the gender of the next 2 (2 more boys in a row might make me stop at 4, our boys come out insanely active).
The point of that mini rant about being a young mother does have a point, my point is how awkward and annoying it is being looked at like "the young mom" when I take Gino to school.  Even more so nowadays when a lot of women aren't having there kids until their 40's!! Just because I am young with two boys, does NOT make me promiscuous, does NOT make me a single mother, does NOT make me a bad mother, does NOT make me irresponsible OR uneducated! In fact, I was raised by some pretty smart parents, a father who is a Doctor of Anthropology and a mother who was an English teacher, they also both happen to have been in the Peace Corps (Kano, Nigeria).  So don't be fooled by my young appearance, I was raised very well (although at times I may have butted heads with my parents) and am myself, an educated woman.  I hold a minor in Psychology and am working on finishing up my degree in Music Education.  I also want to pursue many other roads in education, like family law paralegal, a Major in Psychology and go on to get a Doctorate in Music.  So, please, no quick judgements, I am not what you are thinking. I am also a married woman, to a wonderful man who I have been with for over 3 years, we have overcome more than many couples will in their whole life, just because we are young, does not make us any less than an older couple/parent. Up until recently, I handled my son Gino's entire court case on my own (along with having to teach my husband things because I was not allowed to speak for him), filed everything, researched everything, took all notes on the case, called to find out more information, read exerts from law books and articles...so irresponsible I am not.
It is always so awkward walking up to Gino's school for drop off or pick up, and feeling eyes looking at you obviously because you are young. I am probably more involved in my sons life than most of those parents picking up and dropping off their kids are. There was a cute Gingerbread house activity at his school this morning that parents were invited too, and looking around I was probably the only one under 30, AWKWARD! But don't be fooled, we rocked that Gingerbread house and other than the one set of parents who pretty much did their daughter's Gingerbread house (we know who will be doing her English papers when she is older) Gino's was one of the most thought out and neat houses there.  He is very artistic and pays close attention to details, and that makes me one proud Mama! I took pictures, and wish I could put them up, but that may come back to haunt me at court!

"Insanity is being a stepmother who wouldn't change a thing... It is also happiness and Love"

~Melanie

Being a step mother is not easy, especially when the child sees you as his mother but the law says something different.  But what makes it all worth it in the end is all of those little moments that bring tears to your eyes. We were putting up all of the Christmas decorations around the house the other day, Gino left the room to put something away in his room and I continued putting up the lights, bows and stockings.  When Gino came back into the room his eyes lit up and got really wide and he screamed "MAMA!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!! IT'S BEAUTIFUL!" Every time he noticed something new, he screamed "Mama!!!!!! I love you!!!!" I giggled, partly because the way he said that was hilarious but also I teared up a little because it warmed my heart (as it always does) to hear him say that to me and for something so little.  It's those little things that make the hard times of being a step mother totally worth it in the end. When Gino is at home with us, at school and not at visits that he hates, he is the happiest kid you could ever meet, with a lot of love to give and can teach a lot of people a thing or two about strength and learning. He has been through so much in his little life, but still is so sweet, smart, caring, loving and eager to learn more everyday. I'm pretty sure I am the luckiest Mama out there I have two beautiful children, who I love very much and who love me very much, couldn't ask for much more!

When you have brought up kids, there are memories you store directly in your tear ducts.
~Robert Brault