I’m becoming a grandpa at 43. Mildly infuriating, 'cause there are way worse things in life.

      • HubertManne@piefed.social
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        17 hours ago

        yeah although your kid and their partner need to be more disciplined for that. Also there are fringe benefits to getting an iud. If I was a woman with the knowledge I have now I would get one in a heartbeat.

        • MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works
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          13 hours ago

          They can also be a nightmare for some women putting their hormones out of whack and making their periods worse. Birth control sadly isn’t a one size fits all

          • HubertManne@piefed.social
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            11 hours ago

            yeah which is why its great to try reversible things. Especially ones that can be controlled by the woman. condoms, when used, properly, can prevent pregnancy. I mean you want to stress to your kids to use them regarless because of disease but its good to have a backup. iuds also don’t have to be hormonal. again though as you said one size does not fit all so best to go through the options and not rely on one.

  • jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works
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    23 hours ago

    Ah man. That sucks. Your daughter, like most teenagers, doesn’t have a fucking clue what she’s signed up for or that she is placing a major burden on her parents. Unfortunately for her, she’s about to enter the “find out” stage.

    It’s bad. But it doesn’t have to stay bad. My wife comes from a generational line of teenage pregnances. Hell, she was your daughters age when she got pregnant. She told the sperm donor to fuck off when it was clear that he was more interested in drugs and petty crime than being a parent.

    If you ask my wife today if she regrets becoming a teen mom, she will say, “No. Because it forced me to take responsibility for my kids life, and by extension my life. Something I wasn’t willing to do when it was just me.”

    She got her shit together. I hope the same for your daughter. The current situation sucks ass. But there’s still a lot of potential for a good outcome. Your kid is lucky to have a family that cares about her enough to support her and hold her accountable.

  • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
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    22 hours ago

    Sucks that we live in a society (at least here in the US) that doesn’t do more for teen mothers, all because of the “sin” of wanting to have an orgasm. (and they just ignore that sexual release is a biological imperative.)

    Best of luck.

    • DillDough@lemmy.zip
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      22 hours ago

      Hey my country has been loudly and proudly proclaiming that teen pregnancies are too low so maybe that will change here lmfaooooo

      • Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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        10 hours ago

        I mean it wouldn’t be as big of a deal if motherhood was supported properly. If a 19 y/o mother could take 6-8 months or even a year out of college then pick their program back up right where they left off, have plenty of childcare covered by either the state or by family who are doing well enough themselves, and plenty of healthcare for her and the kid, it wouldn’t be a big deal at all. Especially if it were normalized for men to also get and take paternity leave so academics and employers had less reason to discriminate.

        Realistically the very tail end of adolescence is the beginning of the sweet spot of when the body is mature enough to handle that we just don’t adequately socially support women at that point (or any other point but). The emotional maturity thing is meant to be supported by older community members. You’re supposed to be able to hand your little brat to a 40y/o who actually has patience to manage them safely when they won’t stop throwing tantrums and we’d have those people if they weren’t also working 80h weeks.

        If they really want women having children younger that’s 100% doable with adequate social support for mothers of all ages but they just wanna squeeze every last drop of “productivity” out of every part of this system then get pissy when women get stingy. Like statistics actually support that women make more babies when they feel safe to do so it’s literally that fucking simple but nooo

        • DillDough@lemmy.zip
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          19 minutes ago

          They aren’t talking about 19 year olds lmao, Republicans and Fox News types have been openly calling for high schoolers to get pregnant. But yes I agree with you, no matter what we should be supporting all of our mothers better in this country.

  • yermaw@sh.itjust.works
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    1 day ago

    This could be fantastic for you, you’ll be fit enough to play football with the grandkids when they’re inevitably dumped on you for babysitting

  • TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com
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    21 hours ago

    I’m in a position to say felicitations. You got to have a partner, an offspring, will get to do grandpa things before you are too old and wizened to really enjoy them. Life is short but its road is better shared with loved ones.

    Keep writing the narrative in your head-and-heart-bit like it is the beginning of a great adventure.

  • Crackhappy@lemmy.world
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    1 day ago

    I have four children, and all of them are adults. I don’t think I will ever be a grandpa. I hope you will take your grandpa duties seriously and think about exactly what you want to be, and who you want to be.

  • HeyJoe@lemmy.world
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    23 hours ago

    Dang, and here I am in my early 40’s with a 4 year old. I wish you luck, from the comments here you definitely don’t sound very excited and rightfully so. Kids don’t realize what they will lose when they have a kid that young. The best years of my life were my early 20’s mostly due to the freedom to do whatever I wanted without the burden of the world coming down on me yet.

    I guess the best part is that you are definitely young enough to see your grandkid grow up as well and be able to spend quality time with everyone. My parents had me at 21 and their parents had them in their early 20’s as well so I am one of the few people I know that still has grandparents at my age. Even my wifes grandparents are gone and so are her parents and gives me some perspective on why its about the only good reason to have a kid younger rather than later.

    • volvoxvsmarla@sopuli.xyz
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      15 hours ago

      My daughter is 4 too. While I get the worries, and I absolutely don’t want to encourage or downplay teenage pregnancies, I’ve thought about it a lot, and if she ever became pregnant at a young age, I decided that my first reaction needs to be one of joy and congratulations. Because if she ends up keeping the kid, it’s gonna be loved, and I want them to know that people were happy about them existing and being chosen to exist, and not just looked at as a burden and accident. I can’t imagine how awful it must feel if the first reaction from everyone is shock, disgust, “fafo”, anger. That being said, the next thing is I would make sure I’d support her no matter what decision she takes. Abortion, adoption, raising the kid, I’m on board because it is her life, her body, her decision.

  • dethedrus@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    20 hours ago

    Hah.

    I almost became one at 28 (stepdaughter who I raised), then she had twins right after I turned 31. Great grandparent at 54.

    The deed happened when my wife and I were on our honeymoon. I like to tell my adult granddaughter that she lived for a while in the room she was conceived in. As an adult.

  • Maeve@kbin.earth
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    1 day ago

    Try not to presume the worst, OP. I hope the in-laws provide parenting and meditation classes. Maybe a nanny?

    • decrypting_your_data@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      1 day ago

      Her boyfriend’s mom is super excited and told them that, since she’s a rich, bored housewife with nothing to do, she can take care of the baby and they can do whatever they want.

      • Maeve@kbin.earth
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        22 hours ago

        That’s…not really teaching them parenting. But maybe she will? Do you know them? Do they have decent values (other than teen pregnancy)? I would encourage getting to know them and being involved in your child’s and grandchild’s lives, and avoiding alienation. That means some give and take, from everyone. I wish you and everyone all the best.

  • GregorGizeh@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    Okay i don’t want to shit on your parenting here but that is certainly something to have happen at age 17. Unfortunate that the kids felt not comfortable asking for or obtaining protection themselves.

    • decrypting_your_data@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      1 day ago

      Thing is, it wasn’t an accident. The boyfriend’s family is wealthy, so their line of thinking was: “There’s money, why not be young parents? It’s so romantic.”

        • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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          23 hours ago

          Because you’ve got about as good of odds to have a good and lasting relationship at that age as you do of winning a large lottery sum.

          It’s a stupid gamble.

          He can just bail and pay child support when it gets difficult, she’ll be saddled with raising the kid - or just as likely OP will end up with the kid most of the time while she fucks off and does whatever. Party, school, or work. Even if they stay together she’s just a (maybe) high school graduate beholden to the guy and the family money. She’s property. That’s what the odds vastly favor.

          Anything else is wishful thinking, what might happen. Hey, I hope I’m wrong, but these two are already idiots if this is as far as their thought processes went. “Just live off the family money and bang out a kid…” is stupid.

        • Annoyed_🦀 @lemmy.zip
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          24 hours ago

          This sounds like unplanned parenthood and it’s especially awful for teenager, and can be extra wrecking for OP’s daughter. There’s always stress involved when raising kids. OP’s infuriated probably because he know their mindset haven’t mature yet, and his daugher will get the short end of the stick if the marriage doesn’t worked out since the inlaw is rich.

  • Hikermick@lemmy.world
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    24 hours ago

    That’s how life goes, things don’t always go the way we’d hoped. I’m betting you are going to be happy as soon as you set eyes on the little crotch goblin

    • Drusas@fedia.io
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      17 hours ago

      I’d probably say “joyful” more than “happy”. Even mistakes can bring joy, but that doesn’t have to mean you’re happy about the mistake.

  • Tylerdurdon@lemmy.world
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    24 hours ago

    From what I’ve read of your responses, you point the finger at the boy’s parents for encouraging it because they’re wealthy. Were you not aware when you let him stay with you for the holidays? Isn’t it fairly obvious what would happen if you’re condoning them being together like that in the first place? I can appreciate being in an unideal situation, but from the outside it appears you helped to craft it.

      • JennaR8r@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        23 hours ago

        WDYM no one was aware of their secret plan? When you put a boyfriend & girlfriend together alone in a bedroom for two weeks, did you think they’d be in there reading Bible verses to each other 24/7?

        Anyway hopefully your daughter at least got an orgasm out of it.

        My ex-husband impregnated me three times and gave me zero orgasms.

        I sincerely hope your daughter has a better life than that.