My stupid stupid 19-year-old casi-sister-in-law is pregnant. The idiot girl and her equally stupid boyfriend are incredibly happy about this. She's never held a job in her life, never bought groceries before, never looked after a child. Are they happy because they are just so eff-ing naive about the cost of living here?
With this particular couple, she seems to think that pregnancy is her ticket to freedom from the family house. With her boyfriends 1800 pesos a month they seem to think they can rent a 1000 peso a month apartment and feed and clothe this baby.
I don´t know how old the boy is but 1800 peso isn´t really that bad. If your sister in law could get a 1000 peso job and some help from both parents they should do allright.
It´s no way to start a family offcourse
All she sees is that a baby is going to get her what she wants -- to live with her boyfriend and move out of her parents house. She doesn't understand that she's not going to be able to maintain the style of living that she is acustomed to. She doesn't understand that a baby is a lot of work, it's no ticket to freedom. And she definitely doesn't seem to understand that there is a very real possiblity that after a couple of months of baby crying all the time and girlfriend draining all the money from the bank account, that the boyfriend is just going to split, and she's going to end up back in the family home, bebe in tow.
That will most likely happen indeed. Is the guy responsible?
This I'm sure happens all the time, that's why there's all these single parents. What 20 year old guy wants to be a full-time dad when his buddies are all headed to La Diosa every weekend. As long as the guy doesn't marry the girl, her parents are still legally responsable for her until she reaches age of majority (21). So if he doesn't marry her, doesn't owe her anything -- may have to give some money for the bebe but doesn't have to give the girl sh*t.
With a 1800 peso job, probally 300-400 peso a month
I think the high levels of teen / young mums have to do with a combination of things --
1) Lack of good sex education,
2) Lack of legal abortion options -- you can get an abortion in Argentina no problem if you have the money, if you don't have the money, you don't have the option, so once you're pregnant, that's that.
For unknown parents or grandparents?
3) Lack of serious attitude towards education and careers for women -- professional careers just aren't pursued by women in the proportions that they are in Europe or North America -- and a lot of the women that go to university still don't have any desire to use their education -- men and women here are (a lot of them) of the mentality that a woman's place is in the home (what's the German expression? Kirke-Kuche-Kinder, something like that)
An absent of part-time jobs probally is as well a huge factor. But I do think if you get a college degree, have 4-5 years experience you could get a 6 hour a day job
4) Infantilization and general spoiling of teenage girls. This is want my In-Laws are guilty of. The girl is used to getting everything she wants handed to her on a silver platter. Result -- no clue about how difficult life can be and perception that parents will continue to support her for the rest of her life (which is more than likely what will happen). This girl thinks babies are about as much work as little dollies -- like the 15 or more dollies that she still has in her own bedroom (well at least the baby will have toys, Mummy still has all of hers so she can just give them to baby)
The worst bit about this whole situation is that my in-laws are going to end up raising this child for sure. The soon-to-be mother dropped out of school at 15 with the idea that she was going to be a ballet dancer, however now all she does is sit at home painting her nails (I should clarify that this family is middle class, university educated family, even the mother had a career in finance before the girl came along, and the girl seems to have just been spoilt her entire life and never had any limits put on her, and also never booted her out of the house and told her to get a job).
Getting knocked up was the girl's fault, but the road to getting knocked up was partly paved by her own parents -- and they are the ones that will find themselves in the worse for it.
Anyway I'm sorry, I could rant about this forever, it's pretty much the only topic of conversation in my family right now as we're just so blown away that this girl thinks that having a baby is going to be a walk in the park.
