Despite this song being released 40-odd years ago, the subject matter is still very much applicable to today.
I read an article this week which said childhoods ended age twelve. For me this is an incredibly sad fact, but it certainly isn't surprising when you think many 14-16-year-olds actually have children of their own; they are mere children themselves.
We all know the stereotypical image: a nice pink tracksuit, a fag hanging out of their mouth.
You know the ones. The ones who call their child McKenzie or Bourbon. The ones who are piercing their children's ears at 6 months, and putting sparkling Nike Airmax trainers on their feet before they can even walk.
I walk past groups of girls in town who are parading around with pushchairs like the child in it, is a mere accessory, a fashion statement.
(This video does contain explicit content)
We laugh at sketches such as this and Vicky Pollard, but this kind parenting is genuinely quite common. One only needs to watch the horrors on Jeremy Kyle: it's all real life.
Last weekend I was horrified to watch a man crash into a concrete pillar with a buggy. In this particular Tescos, there is a promenade lined with concrete pillars on each side, and around each of them are metal handrails that are head height for a child sitting in a buggy. The guy wasn't particularly young, maybe 22? So it wasn't his age that shocked me, but purely his atrocious parenting. He clearly just wasn't concentrating as he managed to drift from the path into the post with considerable force, to cause this kid to absolutely scream the place down. It made me think though, what if he'd have drifted the other way, into the road? When the kid's a little bit older, toddling around, will he be concentrating then? It's this kind of parenting which gives young people a bad name and genuinely concerns me at the people who are left in charge of a living being, I wouldn't have trusted this guy with a goldfish.
Now it seems out of order for me to judge something that you can't even imagine until you've experienced it. I've said before that it's wrong to judge, but we judge what is different, what we don't understand ... recently, teenage pregnancy has touched closer to home than I ever cared to imagine. One of my friends from school, aged 19, is expecting a baby in just over a months time. It wasn't planned, she'd hadn't even been with her boyfriend a year and she'd just landed several great opportunities in her career; the timing couldn't have been worse. Quite frankly I'm scared for her. A life is such a huge responsibility and it's going to change life as she knows it. However, watching her endure the last eight months has been almost inspiring. I can't say I'd have been so calm, collected and realistic in her position. During this time, she's carried on with her college course, her full time job and moved into a house of her own, she's supporting herself. Although it's going to be hard, that baby is going to be so loved and she will be a great Mother.
It is when I spend time with her, that I realise that not every teenage pregnancy is a tragedy. All it takes is a basic education in humanity, support of great family and friends and love.
What's more, why is today's society being criticised so heavily for teenage pregnancy? It happened 50 years a go, possibly more so. The difference being, the Grandparents brought it up as their own, or the girl was whisked away to some sinful hospital, and the baby adopted before they could even hold it. It's interesting how conventions change ...
This post wasn't to suggest a solution, criticise or condone teenage pregnancy, but maybe challenge the way we view it. There is no solution; this generation have had the privilege of more education and contraception than ever before and it's still happening. It's easy to judge with the array of social stereotypes, but I don't see us judging the many other poor parents who are actually over the age of 25.
Don't judge them on their age but their parenting. Many young Mums and Dads are doing an inspiring job, what were you doing at their age? Getting drunk, laughing around for the next five years until your life finally starts getting serious. They love their children. That counts for a lot in today's society and I have the greatest respect and admiration for them.
It's time to eliminate this negative stigma.
