13 Kids Who Were Born to Teen Moms Describe What Growing Up Was Like

We hear a lot about what life is like as a teen mom (hello, addicting TV show!)—but it’s rare to hear it from the other point of view: The child’s. A recent Reddit thread blew up when kids born to teen moms were prompted with the question: “How different is your life compared to other kids?”

Below, we rounded up the most intriguing answers. Check them out!

  1. “More Freedom, Less Supervision”

    “I was born to a teen mom, and a single one at that. I definitely had a lot more freedom and less supervision as a child since both of her parents (my grandparents obviously) passed away soon after I was born, so there weren’t many options for babysitters. Since she worked two jobs I would often be on my own after school until about 8 or 9 at night, sometimes later.”

  2. “Couldn’t Afford A Lot”

    “I’ve noticed that I didn’t have the same opportunities as other kids because being a teen mom can lead you down a road of struggle and poverty if you don’t have help from family. I’ve always wanted to play sports, but she could never afford the equipment needed at school to be apart of it. Mentally, I’ve had to mature faster at a young age because she was still a kid herself. It’s unnerving to think teachers would tell me I seemed older than my age at 10 years old.”

  3. “My Mother Resented Me”

    “My mother resented me and the freedom I had as a teen and young adult. I got to do and experience so many things she didn’t get to by choice. On her side, I come from a long line of teen moms but I didn’t make that mistake. I was 27 when my daughter was born. And my daughter is almost 22 and no kids yet so the cycle is broken on our branch at least.”

  4. “People Thought She Was My Sister”

    “When friends would come over for the first time growing up, I’d get a lot of, ‘I didn’t know you had an older sister!’ I don’t. That’s my mother.”

  5. “My Grandparents Ended Up Raising Me”

    “I was primarily raised by my grandparents after age 5 because my mom couldn’t handle the responsibility, and my dad wanted nothing to do with us. She neglected me, literally played World of Warcraft and slept all hours of the day. There were times when I’d miss school because she wouldn’t get up, or I would have to eat uncooked frozen waffles because I was so hungry. I had to grow up really quickly because of that.”

  6. “I Thought Her Life Would Be Better Without Me”

    “I went into a deep depression over this realization: my mom probably would have been happier if I’d never been born. But I eventually realized that even though my mom would have been happier, I’m not responsible for her happiness. She’s gotta make her own choices and live her own life.”

  7. “We Had Similar Interests”

    “Since my Mom and I are only 16 years apart, we ended up liking a lot of the same music. Which made going to concerts a lot easier, because we’d often want to go to the same shows. So, I’ve definitely seen a lot more bands than friends.”

  8. “I Had to Cut My Mom Off”

    “My mom was 18 when she had me and this is about how it went for me as well. I never came home to an empty house because my grandparents tried to cover up when my mom would dip out. My grandmother died a few years ago and my mom has been having me take care of her since. I cut her off last year. She’s been falling apart and now my entire family wants to give me the worst daughter award. Funny thing is, when I was living with her she would repeatedly talk about how she loved our relationship because we were more like friends or sisters and now she is saying I should take care of her because I’m her daughter so I guess that’s my job. She’s 49 now.”

  9. “Older Relatives Outlived Others”

    “One of my friends has a teen mom, she doesn’t talk about it too much but she says that its nice how all family members (great grandparents) are still alive.”

  10. “We Were Actually Super Close”

    “My mom and I are really close. She had me at 14. Growing up, I noticed a lot of my friends didn’t get along with their moms. I always thought she was really relatable. We go eat, go shopping, get coffee, gossip, just hang out. She worked a lot, sometimes multiple jobs at once, so I felt like I did less extracurricular than my friends. But I was pretty happy growing up.”

  11. “My Aunts And Uncles Are Younger Than Me”

    “My mom was 18. So my aunt and uncle are only 10 years older than me (my uncle is 6 years) so I got to do all kind of rad stuff with my aunt and uncle like skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding. They were and are more like a brother and sister.”

  12. “People Treated Me Like an Outsider”

    “My whole childhood I felt like an outsider because of her. I’m from a middle class suburb with more nuclear families than not, so everyone treated me like some alien.”

  13. “She’s Still Trying to Grow Up”

    “Parents still trying to grow up and learn life lessons 10 years later because they never really had the chance to while raising you, it’s kinda cool though cause then If you’re aware enough you also pick up on it.”

Do you know a child of a teen mom? What do you think they’d say if asked how their life was different?